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« 









THE LIFE 




RICHARD EARL HOWE, K.G 

ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET, AND 
GENERAL OF MARINES. 


BY 


SIR JOHN BARROW, Bart., F.R.S. 

n 


LONDON: 



JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 


MDCCCXXXVIII. 






13 / 1*7 

./ 


.HZBZ 


LONDON: 

Printed by William Clowes and Sons, 
Stamford Street. 





I 


PREFACE. 


It may appear remarkable enough that, amidst the 
profusion of publications which annually issue from 
the press, the biography of such a man as Lord 
Howe, whose whole life was devoted to the service 
of his country (civil and military), without inter¬ 
ruption, for more than sixty years, should not have 
found a place among them. No Life, however, of 
Admiral Lord Howe has yet been published. We 
have Memoirs, and Sketches, and Scraps, in which 
many of his brilliant exploits and professional ser¬ 
vices have been briefly noticed, mostly from official 
documents, rarely from private sources, yet nothing 
whatever relating to his private character or opi¬ 
nions, either from himself or any part of his family : 
but these brief memoirs afford no record of his 
many acquirements, great virtues, and moral ex¬ 
cellence as a member of society. No blame at¬ 
taches to the writers of such desultory pieces for 
these omissions. They were in the same position 
as the Israelites in Egypt—unable to make bricks 

a 2 



IV 


PREFACE. 


without straw—they had few materials for the task, 
beyond the dry narratives of the Gazettes, and not 
always them, and the equally dry official letters on 
service. 

Under these circumstances it may not unreason¬ 
ably be asked, what new materials are now put 
forward ?—how happens it, considering the number 
of naval officers who write naval novels, and works 
on professional subjects (and many of whom write 
well), that a landsman should undertake the history 
of one of the most distinguished admirals of the 
British navy?—and lastly, what is the extent of 
his acquaintance with naval matters ? Without 
demurring to the right of these, or any such ques¬ 
tions, being put, which the perusal of the work 
itself would best satisfy, there can be no objection 
to answer them briefly at once. 

To the first, and indeed the only question of 
importance, it is answered, that the fresh materials 
consist of something more than four hundred 
letters, all in the hand-writing of Earl Howe, and 
all addressed to one individual, long and high in 
his confidence, embracing a period between the 
years 1776 and 1799, on a great variety of sub¬ 
jects, professional and otherwise;—of several private 
letters to and from the Earl of Chatham;—of the 


PREFACE. 


V 


Noble Admiral’s private Journal during the time 
his flag was up, very full, and written entirely by 
himself *—of various communications received from 
several flag-officers and others, who served under 
him, and now living;—and of a few very interesting 
letters from his Majesty George III., and George 
Prince of Wales, to a member of the Howe family. 

With regard to the second question: if our naval 
writers of novels and romances, in humble imitation 
of a celebrated novelist of former days, when the 
navy no more resembled the navy now, than their 
humour does that of Smollett, had not been so 
wholly taken up in their works of fancy and ima¬ 
gination—some of them tending to degrade ra¬ 
ther than exalt the naval character—instead of ap¬ 
plying themselves to naval biography, in which 
there is ample scope, the landsman would in all 
probability have left the task to one of the pro¬ 
fession. 

And lastly, if traversing the Atlantic to the 80th 
degree of north latitude—to the 40th degree of 
south latitude; and the Eastern Ocean to the 40th 
degree of north latitude; crossing in these pas¬ 
sages the Equinoctial line six times—may not have 
converted the landsman into a seaman, yet they 
may be assumed as having afforded him the means 


VI 


PREFACE. 


of knowing something of a ship and of what be¬ 
longs to the naval service; added to which, a ser¬ 
vitude of nearly thirty-three years in the Admi¬ 
ralty is not likely to have diminished that know¬ 
ledge; but he has not troubled himself nor the 
reader much with naval tactics and naval discipline. 

It was the possession of the materials above 
mentioned, together with the official documents to 
which I had access, and many of which are now 
for the first time made public, that induced me to 
undertake the “ Life of Lord Howe,” from whose 
distinguished and honourable character the rising 
officers of the British navy, and its future heroes, 
may take an useful example—a better they cannot 
follow—in all the branches of the naval service. 
I have made such free use of Lord Howe’s letters 
and Journal, containing his own account of his acts, 
and his opinions and sentiments in his own words, 
on a variety of subjects, mostly professional, that 
a considerable portion of the latter part of the nar¬ 
rative may almost be considered as autobiographi¬ 
cal ; but unfortunately the younger part of his life 
affords no such valuable materials. 

If I entertained doubts of engaging in the task, 
which I certainly did from the want of all private 
correspondence with or from the Noble Earl, that 


PREFACE. 


Vll 


could throw any light on his moral character, his 
opinions or sentiments, previous to his arriving at 
his flag, those doubts at once gave way to the 
flattering approbation, and the expression of a de¬ 
sire on the part of his late Majesty, that I should 
undertake it. His commands on this occasion were 
personally conveyed to me only a few days before 
the commencement, or rather indication, of the 
fatal illness which deprived the nation of a Sove¬ 
reign eagerly devoted to its honour and its interests 
—of a Prince punctual in the discharge of his 
public duties, easy of access, and always ready to 
oblige, and to do a good-natured act—of a Man 
kind-hearted, amiable, and affectionate in all the 
relations of private and domestic life. 

His Majesty was pleased to say that, having un¬ 
derstood I was about to employ myself in writing 
the Life of the late Lord Howe, he was glad to 
hear it was likely to fall into such safe hands, for 
the Admiral was a great favourite with his father, 
and indeed a sort of connexion of the family; that 
he knew the present Earl had for some time past 
been desirous of finding some one qualified to 
write the life of his grandfather, and ought to 

consider himself fortunate.The King 

then entered into the history of Lord Howe’s life, 



Vlll 


PREFACE. 


went over the leading features and events that 
distinguished it, which an extraordinary memory 
enabled him to do with a degree of correctness 
quite surprising; he pointed out some passages in 
the Earl’s life, not generally known, and which 
he said would require caution in touching upon, 
and that he was desirous of mentioning them to 
me. Though this interview, with which I was 
honoured, happened on the Sunday immediately 
preceding the last levee he ever held, I could not 
discover, on that day, any difference from his usual 
cheerfulness, manner, or appearance. 

The great deficiency in the correspondence and 
papers of the Howe family is thus accounted for: 

-—A chest of papers, after the death of the Earl, 
and another at the decease of his sister, Mrs. 
Howe, came into the possession of the youngest 
daughter, Louisa Catherine Marchioness of Sligo, 
as the executrix of both. The present Marquis 
had them sent to his seat at Westport, in Ireland, 
where, in consequence of a fire which broke out 
and destroyed many things in the library, it is 
supposed these papers shared the same fate. The 
Marquis has caused every search to be made for 
them, but without success. From the circum¬ 
stance of Lord Howe having written so great a 


PREFACE. 


IX. 


number of letters to one individual, commencing 
towards the latter part of his life, and from the 
character of the Honourable Mrs. Howe, univer¬ 
sally known to the fashionable and literary portion 
of the society of London, there cannot be a doubt 
that a large mass of curious and valuable corre¬ 
spondence must have been destroyed; but it can 
be as little doubted that much still remains in the 
possession of individuals. 

Biographers are generally found to be panegy¬ 
rists ; some there are, however, who undertake to 
write a life for the savage pleasure of tearing it 
in pieces. I have no motive nor influence what¬ 
ever to sway me in either category. I have con¬ 
scientiously praised Lord Howe ; truth and justice 
demanded it at my hands—truth, after a careful 
revision of the record of his acts, and a fair esti¬ 
mate of his professional and moral character—and 
justice, that the memory of their spotless author 
and possessor should not altogether perish. 

It remains only for me to express thus publicly 
my acknowledgments to those from whom I have 
received valuable assistance, and in an especial 
manner to Captain Lord Radstock, for the un¬ 
wearied pains he kindly took in procuring, and 
endeavouring to procure, all the information and 


X 


PREFACE. 


materials that could be had in the most likely 
quarters; and to Captain Sir Lucius Curtis for 
the full permission he liberally gave me to make 
use of the valuable collection of letters addressed 
by the Earl to his late father. Sir Roger Curtis. 
I wish also to acknowledge, with thanks, the obli¬ 
gation I feel myself under to Admiral Sir Robert 
Stopford and Admiral Sir Robert Barlow, who 
most readily (Sir R. Stopford voluntarily) gave 
me such information as, from their having com¬ 
manded frigates in the battle of the 1st of June, 
and enjoyed the friendship of the Noble Earl, they 
were able to give. I received, also, communica¬ 
tions from several other flag-officers who served 
as lieutenants in the same battle; of the flag- 
officers none remain; and of the captains who 
received medals not one is left. In conclusion, 
I cannot omit rendering the thanks that I feel to 
be due to Henry Bedford, Esq., Keeper of the 
Admiralty Records, by whose valuable assistance 
much time, and a great deal of the tedious labour 
of research, have been spared to me. 

John Barrow. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter I.—ADVANCEMENT IN THE NAVY. . p. 1 

Genealogy of the Howe family—Richard Howe sent to Eton—thence 
to sea—Destined for the South Seas with Commodore Anson—Goes 
to the West Indies under Sir Charles Knowles—Action of the Bur- 
ford—Appointed to the Comet, bomb—to the Baltimore in the North 
Seas—Admiral Vernon—Engaged with two French frigates—Re¬ 
ceives the rank of Captain, and appointed to command the Triton— 
Joins Sir C. Knowles in the West Indies—Commands the Glory 
and goes on the African station—Appointed to the Mary yacht. 

Chapter II.—EXPEDITIONS TO THE COAST OF FRANCE. . 19 

Howe having obtained the rank of Captain joins Admiral Boscawen 
in the Dunkirk—Proceeds off Newfoundland—Howe attacks the 
Alcide and Lys—Various accounts of this action—Commands a 
squadron for the protection of Jersey and Guernsey—Takes Chausse 
—French abandon their designs on the Channel Islands—Expedi¬ 
tion to the Coast of France on a great scale—Characters of those 
employed—Howe joins it in the Magnanime—Attacks and carries 
Isle d’Aix—Discussions of the military officers respecting the attack 
upon Rochefort—Given up—Another expedition—Mr. Pitt’s object 
in persevering in them—Its naval force—Extent of naval and land 
forces—Howe appointed to command the one, as Commodore—the 
Duke of Marlborough the other—Land at Concale—St. Maloes— 
Howe’s character—They fail before Cherburg, and return—A 
third expedition—The land forces under Lieut. General Bligh— 
Attack Cherburg and succeed—Proceed to the westward—Land 
troops at St. Lunaire Bay—Arrangements for embarking troops at 
St. Cas—Disasters at this place—Return to England. 

Chapter III.—VARIOUS SERVICES, CIVIL AND MILITARY. 55 

Commodore Howe marries—His brother, the Earl Howe, is killed— 
His remuneration for the Duke of Marlborough and others—The 
equipment and reception of the Duke of York—Joins Sir Edward 
Hawke—Action with the fleet of Conflans—The Admiral’s account 



xii 


CONTENTS. 


of the battle very defective—Walpole’s edition of it—Magnanime 
attached to the Channel fleet—Howe the first Colonel of Marines— 
Establishment and abolition of that and the generals of Marines— 
George II. gives the first uniform to the navy—Howe flag-captain 
to the Duke of York in the Princess Amelia—Fire in the Princess 
Amelia—Becomes a member of the Board of Admiralty—Treasurer 
of the navy—Advantages of these situations in a naval point of 
view—Lord Sandwich, an able First Lord of the Admiralty—His 
opinion as to timber and seamen—Howe purchases a place called 
Porters—Description of—Imitation of the Queen Charlotte’s after- 
cabin—Round-sterns and stern-galleries. 

Chapter IV .— AMERICAN COMMAND. * . 78 

Lord Howe nominated, but not appointed, to command the Mediter¬ 
ranean fleet—His speeches in Parliament, as member for Dartmouth 
—Obtains an increase of half-pay for captains in the navy—Ap¬ 
pointed commander-in-chief of the American station—Gets ac¬ 
quainted with Dr. Franklin while in England—Their correspondence 
—Action of Sir Peter Parker—The two brothers publish their decla¬ 
ration—Lord Howe writes to Washington, who returns his letter 
—Writes to Franklin, without any good effect—A committee of 
Congress wait on Lord Howe— No result from it—Accident by'firing 
a salute ; court-martial, and proceedings thereon—The Hon. Henry 
Blackwood’s case—Arrival of Count d’ Estaing's fleet—Howe seeks 
him in order to give battle—A violent gale of wind—Effects of it 
on the two fleets—Action of the Isis of 50 guns with the Caesar of 
74—Letter of Captain Raynor describing it—D’Estaing, with his 
crippled fleet, takes refuge in Boston—Howe resigns his command 
to Admiral Byron—His brother had previously resigned to Sir 
Henry Clinton—A tournament given on* the occasion—Character 
of Lord Howe—Contracts a friendship, which ceases only with his 
death. 


Chapter V.—RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. . . 121 

Debates in Parliament on American affairs—The part taken by Lord 
Howe—Declines serving under the then administration—Change 
of ministers—Appointed by Lord Keppel to the command of the 
Channel fleet—Sent first to the North Sea; then off Ushant— 
State of preparations for the siege of Gibraltar—The attack of, de¬ 
scribed by an Italian officer—Total destruction of the floating 


CONTENTS. 


xiii 


batteries—No intelligence of this had reached England when Lord 
Howe was ordered to proceed for the relief of the garrison—Loss of 
the Royal George, one of his squadron—Of Admiral Kempenfelt, 
and his signals—Attention of Lord Howe to naval tactics and evolu¬ 
tions—Anecdote, relating to his proposal for a night action— 
Arrival at, and passage through, the Strait of Gibraltar—Spanish 
fleet at anchor in the Bay—Convoy of transports and store-ships 
driven through the Strait—Covered by the fleet—Tremendous gale 
of wind—Loss of Spanish ships—Spanish fleet passes the Strait—• 
Howe succeeds in relieving the garrison—Repasses the Strait, and 
offers battle off Cape Spartel—The combined fleets, forty-four sail 
of the line, to thirty-four English—Partial action, which terminates 
in the combined fleet making for Cadiz—General Elliot’s opinion 
of Lord Howe, and praise of Captain Curtis—Courteous conduct of 
the Due de Crillon and the French princes towards General Elliot 
—Howe, having made two detachments of fourteen sail of the line, 
returns with the rest of his fleet to St. Helen’s. 


Chapter VI.—FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. . 163 

Lord Howe appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, vice Keppel— 
Quells a mutiny in the Janus—Keppel restored by the coalition 
ministry—Debates in the Lords—Change of ministers—Lord 
Howe re-appointed to the Admiralty—Duties of this department, 
and qualifications of its Chief—Difficulties and annoyances of— 
Patronage of—Promotions and appointments—Comparative state¬ 
ment of Lord Howe’s promotions, and those of the present time— 
Debates in Parliament on Lord Howe’s brevet promotion—Charac¬ 
ter of Lord Howe, as given by both parties—Orders in council for 
the promotion of admirals—State of the list of captains—Proposal 
for a retired list—Motion on the subject in the House of Commons 
—Lord Howe resigns—Cause of it—Question on the eligibility of 
naval officers or landsmen being at the head of the Admiralty— 
Lord Howe created an English peer, as Earl Howe and Baron of 
Langar. 

Chapter VII.—COMMAND OF THE CHANNEL FLEET. . 198 

Appointment to command in the Channel Soundings—To hoist the 
union at the main, in the Queen Charlotte—State of the flags— 
The ships and flag-officers under his command—Secret orders from 
the cabinet—Ordered to strike his flag—Promises himself the plea¬ 
sures of rural dissipation—On the temporary separation of his 


xiv 


CONTENTS. 


daughter—Made Vice-Admiral of England—His mind always in 
the service—Appointed a second time Commander-in-chief of the 
Channel fleet—Mast-heading—Puts to sea—Gets sight of the 
French fleet—Inferiority of our ships in sailing—Partial action of the 
Latona—Fleet returns to port—State of the ships—The block¬ 
ading system—Clamour against Lord Howe—Epigram. 


Chapter VIII.—THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. . 221 

List of the Channel fleet under Lord Howe—Engages Bowen as 
master—Sails—Takes and destroys several prizes—Extract of Lord 
Howe’s private journal from the 28th of May to the 1st of June, both 
inclusive—Arrival of the fleet with the captured ships—Return of 
killed, wounded, and prisoners—Second Gazette account of officers 
who distinguished themselves—Offence taken by those not men¬ 
tioned—Not intended by Lord Howe to he made public—Captain 
Molloy asks for a court-martial—Dismissed from command of the 
Caesar—Collingwood’s name omitted—Brought forward after Sir 
John Jervis’s action offCape St. Vincent—His “ spiteful satisfaction” 
in making an unfavourable comparison between this action and that 
of 1st of June—Howe’s estimate of Jervis’s action—Howe’s corre¬ 
spondence with Lord Chatham respecting the publication of officers’ 
names—His unwillingness to consent to it, and reasons why—Lord 
St. Vincent’s suppression of Nelson’s name—The question of the 
enemy’s disabled ships being suffered to escape—Opinions of flag- 
officers now living—The King’s visit to Portsmouth—Promotions, 
honours, &c.—Lord Howe receives the thanks of both Houses of 
Parliament—The King’s letter to Mrs. Howe and her reply—Va¬ 
rious anecdotes respecting the battle of 1st of June—the Marl¬ 
borough, Brunswick, Audacious, Defence, &c.—Lady Mary Howe’s 
letter to her sister Lady Altamont. 


Chapter IX.—COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE WESTERN 

FLEET.291 

Resumes the command at St. Helen’s—Puts to sea with a splendid 
fleet—Makes several detachments—Driven back by bad weather to 
Torbay—Hears of five sail of French ships of the line at sea— 
Hastens off Ushant, and cruises to the westward—Wishes to re¬ 
sign—Prevented by the King—Report of French fleet being at sea 
—Sails and ascertains it was not so—Rejoices at Bridport’s victory 
—Gives up prize-money and all advantages of commander-in-chief 


CONTENTS. 


XV 


to the fleet actively employed—Plan of keeping a fleet at St. Helen’s 
—Subordination of seamen in the fleet—Fault of the captains— 
Gallant conduct of Sir A. Douglas—Soldiers serving as marines— 
Discussions with Horse Guards—Complains of his infirmities— 
General of Marines—Vice and Rear-Admirals of England—Medals, 
delay in distributing—Consequences of—Activity of his mind in 
naval concerns—Resignation of his command. 

Chapter X.—THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797. . . 321 

The year 1797 pregnant with mutiny in the fleet—Distinguished 
also for two general and various single actions—Lord Howe re¬ 
ceives petitions from several ships—Sends them to the Admiralty 
—Writes to Portsmouth—Mutiny breaks out there—The Board of 
Admiralty proceeds thither—Returns re infectd —Proceedings of 
Government seem to be satisfactory to the men—Mutiny breaks 
out again—Lord Howe requested to go down—Visits the ships—• 
Confers with the delegates in the Queen Charlotte—Exacts con¬ 
ditions from them, before he interferes—Terminates their discon¬ 
tents satisfactorily—Consents to the removal of certain officers 
from their ships, a sine qua non on the part of the crews—List of 
the numbers of officers removed—Letter to the Duke of Portland— 
Mutiny at the Nore—In Lord Duncan’s fleet—In Lord St. Vin¬ 
cent’s, off Cadiz—Prompt and decisive measures of his Lordship 
put a stop to it—Mutiny at the Cape—Decisive measures of Lord 
Macartney and Admiral Pringle—Improved condition of the sea¬ 
men of the navy. 

Chapter XI.—RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 359 

Lord Howe finally retires from public life—His family—Accession of 
fortune—Patronises a farmer’s son—Observations on, and praise 
of, Duncan’s victory—Trial by court-martial of Captain Williamson 
—Howe’s recollection of this officer’s conduct on a former occasion 
—His long confinement by ill health—Reflections on discipline—A 
family ship—High praise on Lord St. Vincent as a naval officer— 
Opinion in favour of appointing young officers to command ships of 
the line—Comments on the action of the Mars with L’Hercule 
Praise of Lord Nelson—Round sterns of ships—Temperance of Lord 
Ho we—His French cook—His two last letters : the first, containing 
a comment on Suwarrow’s action with the French, and on his own 
battle of the 1st of June; the second, written sixteen days before 


xvi 


CONTENTS. 


his death, on domestic matters, and his own infirmities—By the 
death of Dr. Warren, and in the absence of Dr. Pitcairn, has re¬ 
course to electricity—Supposed to have driven the gout into his 
head — Dies — Consolatory letter from George the Third and 
George Prince of Wales—Mrs. Howe’s admirable reply to the 
former—Attentions of the King, Queen, and Royal Family to the 
Countess Howe — Intended marriage of Lady Mary with Lord 
Morton — Death of this amiable Lady, followed 'by that of the 
Countess—Two excellent letters of condolence from the good King 
George the Third, and one from the Prince of Wales—Loss of 
Mrs. Howe’s papers and correspondence much to be regretted— 
Probability of much being still in private hands. 

Chapter XII.—MISCELLANEOUS TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 399 

General observations*—Howe and Wolfe—Howe’s bravery and cool¬ 
ness never disputed — Comparative instance of the latter — His 
person, features, and manners described—Erroneous character of 
him by the Americans—His humane and benevolent character 
exemplified—His generosity—His good nature, in a long instruc¬ 
tion to Captain Fanshawe, how to conduct himself at Court—His 
kindness to young officers — Interesting account given by Sir 

\ Robert Barlow in consequence of this—Free from anger or resent¬ 
ment — The word blockhead the strongest of reproach in four 
hundred letters—Irritating conduct of Lord Bridport borne with 
calmness—A solitary quarrel with, and challenge to, Captain Lord 
Harvey—Full apology of the latter—Howe’s readiness to bestow 
praise on naval officers—On frigate captains not rewarded—In¬ 
stances of his attention to naval science—His domestic circle— 
Howe, St. Vincent, and Nelson, the three greatest naval officers of 
their times—Their characters compared—Brief summary of that of 
Earl Howe. 


DIRECTIONS FOR THE BINDER. 

Portrait of Lord Howe to face Title. 
Fac-simile of a letter of George III., p. 1. 
Fac-simile of a letter of Lord Howe, p. 147. 













































































































































































* X. 





















THE LIFE 


OF 

ADMIRAL EARL HOWE. 


CHAPTER I. 

ADVANCEMENT IN THE NAVY. 

Genealogy of the Howe family—Richard Howe sent to Eton—thence 
to sea—Destined for the South Seas with Commodore Anson—Goes 
to the West Indies under Sir Charles Knowles—Action of the Bur- 
ford—Appointed to the Comet, bomb—to the Baltimore in the North 
Seas—Admiral Vernon—Engaged with two French frigates—Re¬ 
ceives the rank of Captain, and appointed to command the Triton— 
Joins Sir C. Knowles in the West Indies—Commands the Glory 
and goes on the African station—Appointed to the Mary yacht. 

Without considering it necessary, for the present 
purpose, to trace the pedigree of a family to a remote 
origin, it may not be deemed irrelevant on the part of 
the biographer to point out, when such is the fact, how 
a succession of eminent and noble characters in the 
same family, so far from diminishing the exertions 
of their descendants to follow them in the paths of 
honor and glory, have contributed, as in the case of 
the family of Howe, to render their names worthy 
of those of their ancestors. 

In the reign of Charles II., the eldest son of this 

B 



2 life OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

house (John Howe and of his wife Jane Grubham) 
was created a baronet, and liis brother, George Howe, 
a knight, as due recompenses for their respective 
services, both being gentlemen eminent in the county 
of Notts. Sir John Howe, the second son of the 
first Sir Richard Grubham Howe, having married 
Annabella, the youngest of the three natural daughters 
of Emanuel Scrope, Earl of Sunderland, became 
possessed of that portion of the Scrope estate situated 
in Notts; this lady was legitimized by Act of Parlia¬ 
ment, and became the Lady Annabella Howe. They 
left four sons, the eldest of whom, John Howe, was 
Member of Parliament for Cirencester, inherited the 
family estates in Gloucestershire, held high offices 
under King William and Queen Anne, and was the 
immediate ancestor of the Lords Chedworth, a title 
now extinct. 

Charles, the third son, left only one daughter ; and 
Emanuel, the fourth son, did the same, having married 
Ruperta, the natural daughter of Prince Rupert, third 
son of Frederick, called King of Bolibmia, by Eliza¬ 
beth, daughter of James I. He was a General in the 
army and Envoy Extraordinary to the Elector of 
Hanover, afterwards George I.; and from this cir¬ 
cumstance probably originated that intimacy with the 
Royal House of Hanover, which subsists to the pre¬ 
sent day. 

Reverting now to Scrope, the second of the four 
sons of Sir John Grubham Howe and Lady Anna- 


I.] ADVANCEMENT IN THE NAVY. 3 

bella: lie was born in 1648, and inherited from his 
mother the Nottingham portion of the Scrope estates, 
was Member of Parliament for Nottingham in the 
reigns of Charles II., William III., and Queen Anne, 
and joined the Earl of Nottingham in 1668, in 
his adhesion to King William on his landing, was 
created Baron Clenawley and Viscount Howe in 
1701, and Avas also made a Groom of the Bedchamber. 
In the chapel, in the south aisle of the church of 
Langar, is a monumental bust of this Lord HoAve, on 
a marble pedestal, bearing this inscription : “ Erected 
to the memory of the Right Honorable Scrope, Lord 
Viscount Howe, who departed this life the 16th day 
of January, 1712, aged 64 years. At the revolution 
in the year 1688, he remarkably distinguished himself 
in the preservation of the religion and liberties of his 
country, Avhen popery and arbitrary power threatened 
the subversion of both. He married ’ Anne, the 
daughter of John, Earl of Rutland, by whom he had 
issue one son, who died young, and two daughters. 

* Also Juliana, the daughter of William, Lord Ailing- 
ton, by whom he left issue tivo sons and three 
daughters.” 

Emanuel Scrope Howe, the eldest son, succeeded 
his father in 1712, and Avas Member of Parliament 
for Nottingham. In 1732 he was appointed Governor 
of Barbados, Avhere he is said to have died by drink¬ 
ing the milk of cocoa nuts, when heated, in March 
1734. He married Mary Sophia Charlotte, daughter 

b 2 


4 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

of Baron Kielmansegge, Master of the Horse to 
George I. when Elector of Hanover, by Sophia 
Charlotte, daughter of Count Platen, of the Empire ; 
she was afterwards created by George I. Countess of 
Darlington. They left four sons and four daughters, 
the eldest of whom, George Augustus, of great pro¬ 
mise, fell universally lamented in America, and the 
title and estate devolved on the second son, Richard, 
the subject of the present memoir. 

It is remarkable enough, and can only be explained 
by the circumstance of the fire at Westport, that no 
family records have been discovered which throw any 
light on the early life, the education, genius, and dis¬ 
position, of any of the four brothers, sons of the 
Viscount Howe of Langar. All that is known of 
Richard Howe is, that he was born in 1725, and is 
supposed to have been sent to Eton about the usual 
age, though it is not certain whether he had not pre¬ 
viously been at Westminster. His name does not 
appear on the lists of Eton, which, however, seem to 
have been very imperfectly kept about the year 1735, 
after which there is a gap of twenty years. On refer¬ 
ence to the Provost, he states, “In my boyhood I un¬ 
derstood that he left Eton in the second or third form.” 
It was in the year last mentioned, being then ten 
years of age, that Richard had the misfortune to lose 
his father, who, as already stated, died at Barbados, 
after having exercised the functions of Governor 
of that colony between two and three years. In a 


!•] ADVANCEMENT IN THE NAVY. 5 

tablet in the church of Langar, is the following in¬ 
scription near the Howe vault: “This monument was 
erected by his sorrowful mother to the memory of the 
Right Honorable Scrope, Lord Viscount Howe, 
who, in the year 1732, was, by his Majesty George II., 
appointed Governor of Barbados. Being adorned 
with all those great and amiable qualifications which 
render a man truly noble, by his conduct in that 
high station he gained the respect and esteem that 
was justly due to a generous, wise, impartial and 
disinterested Governor. He departed this life there 
March 28th 1734, in the thirty-fifth year of his age. 
He was married in 1719 to Mademoiselle Keilman- 
segge, and left issue by her four sons and four 
daughters.’’ 

On leaving Eton, when about the age of fourteen, 
young Richard was entered as midshipman on board 
the Severn of fifty guns, commanded by the Honour¬ 
able Edward Legge, son of William, the first Earl 
of Dartmouth. This ship was one of the squadron 
placed under the orders of Commodore Anson, and 
destined for a secret expedition to a part of the world 
which, at that time, was vaguely designated by the 
name of the South Seas, though it included the 
Northern as well as the Southern Pacific. This 
squadron consisted of the Centurion (the Commodore’s 
ship), the Argyle, Severn, Pearl, Wager, and Tryal 
sloop. The objects were to make war upon the whole 
western coasts of Spanish America, to take possession 


6 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


of some convenient port, to intercept the Galleons 
with treasure from Acapulco to Manilla; and, in 
short, to annoy the Spanish colonies and trade in 
every possible way. 

Having passed the Strait le Mair, rounded Cape 
Horn, and reached Cape Noir on the western side of 
Terra del Fuego, they encountered a most violent 
tempest, which dispersed the ships, drove them back to 
the eastward, and reduced them to the greatest distress, 
by the violence of the storm, the tremendous sea, and 
the extreme cold from the snow and sleet, which con¬ 
tinued to fall for several days together. “ The dis¬ 
tresses,” says Mr. Walter, the historiographer of this 
interesting voyage, “ with which we struggled, during 
the three successive months, will not easily be paral¬ 
leled in the relation of any former naval expedition.” 
The Severn and the Pearl suffered so much that they 
could not attempt to pass Cape Horn a second time, 
and were obliged to bear up for Pio de Janeiro. 
From hence, after having refitted the ships, and re¬ 
freshed the crews, they returned to England, and 
thus escaped those perilous disasters detailed with 
such painful interest in the account of that voyage 
above alluded to. 

Such is not unfrequently the severe and trying 
introduction of young men into the sea service; but 
whatever their feelings may be, regarding the dangers, 
the hardships, and the many inconveniences of a sea¬ 
faring life thus early experienced, the example of 


I.] ADVANCEMENT IN THE NAVY. 7 

others, little more advanced than themselves in the 
same profession, is generally found quite sufficient 
to prevent them from showing symptoms of dislike, 
on the contrary, rather to encourage them in a deter¬ 
mination to persevere. Young Howe was obviously 
nothing daunted by this experimental trial, as we find 
him, immediately after his return, on board the Bur- 
ford, commanded by Captain Franklin Lushington, 
one of a fleet destined for the West Indies under 
Admiral Sir Chaloner Ogle; a squadron of which, 
detached from this fleet, was under the immediate 
orders of Sir Charles Knowles, who left Spithead in 
the month of February, 1742. The first operation of 
this squadron was an attack on La Guayra on the 
coast of the Caraccas, in which the Bur ford was so 
roughly handled, the Captain being mortally wounded, 
that the first lieutenant found it necessary to with¬ 
draw her from under the fire, and carry her into 
Cura^oa, where the Captain died two hours after he 
was landed. The lieutenant was tried by court-martial 
for having so withdrawn her, and acquitted chiefly on 
the evidence of the carpenter, confirmed by the tes¬ 
timony of the surviving officers of the ship, as to the 
danger of her keeping the sea, in consequence of the 
damages she had received in her hull. 

In what manner young Howe conducted himself 
on this first occasion of being under fire, there are no 
records to refer to. The death of the Captain and 
the court-martial on the first lieutenant seem to have 


8 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


prevented any special report being made on the con¬ 
duct of the Burford, at least none can be traced be¬ 
yond the minutes of the court. In this respect, Mr. 
Howe would appear to have been less lucky than 
young heroes generally are found to be in their bio¬ 
graphical memoirs, wherein that celebrity is not unu¬ 
sually anticipated and predicted, which they are in 
after-times to obtain, and wherein they are mostly de¬ 
scribed as giving an earnest of future deeds of valour, 
from the moment they throw off their juvenile clothing. 
Howe was not fortunate enough to have his youthful 
deeds thus recorded ; he was now in his eighteenth year, 
without his name having once been entered on the 
annals of fame, except, indeed, once or twice where it 
is exhibited in fictitious characters; as for instance, 
in the following circumstantial narrative which has 
passed current through various chronicles, lives, and 
registers, without a shadow of foundation for any one 
incident detailed therein. It relates to the action just 
mentioned, in which the Burford was concerned :— 
“The tender and grateful attachment which our 
young officer [Mr. Howe] entertained for his Captain, 
is pleasing to recollect, and must not be passed un¬ 
noticed. Being required to give evidence relative to 
the conduct of the Burford, at a court-martial held 
subsequent to the action, he proceeded in a clear and 
collected manner, until he came to relate the melan¬ 
choly death of his beloved and gallant friend. Though 
possessing the strongest nerves, which he has since 


I.] ADVANCEMENT IN THE NAVY. 9 

proved are not liable to be affected by those passions 
which often distract the minds of even the bravest men, 
the keen emotions of his youthful heart so overcame 
his hitherto firm recital, that, unable to proceed, he 
requested the indulgence of the court, until he could 
sufficiently collect himself. He then related that 
Captain Lushington, having his thigh shot off, con¬ 
tinued giving directions to his first lieutenant, until 
he sunk down fainting from loss of blood. He was 
then conveyed to the cockpit. 4 I was soon sent,’ 
said the young officer, 4 by the first lieutenant for 
orders/ ‘ My dear Howe,’ said the noble Lushing¬ 
ton, on seeing him approach, 4 since I have been 
brought down (since ?) I have received a mortal 
wound; tell the lieutenant to use his own judg¬ 
ment.’ He was proceeding to relate the death of 
his brave commander, when he again burst into a 
flood of tears, and retired.” 

It will appear scarcely credible, but so it is, that 
the whole and every part of this circumstantial piece 
of pathos is purely romance, without one word of truth 
in it,—in short, that it is a complete fiction. Mr. 
Howe was not examined at all at the court-martial— 
he was not even called on to give evidence—neither 
his name nor that of Captain Lushington appears on 
the minutes of the court, which related solely to the 
supposed sinking state of the ship when she withdrew 
from the action :— 44 And this is history !” as the old 
king of Prussia said, when two eye-witnesses to the 


10 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

same fact related it in a sense directly opposite to 
each other. The conduct of Howe, however, must be 
presumed to have met with the approval of the Com- 
mander-in-Chief, as immediately after this he gave 
him an order to act as lieutenant in one of the ships 
about to proceed to England. But whether this ap¬ 
pointment was the result of his gallantry and good 
conduct, or merely a mark of the Commodore’s favour, 
it did not in the least avail him; whatever interest 
or influence his rank in life might be supposed to 
give him, it had not sufficient weight at home to ob¬ 
tain a confirmation of his commission. He at once, 
therefore, took the determination of returning to the 
West Indies to rejoin his patron. Here he was not 
suffered to remain long before an opportunity occur¬ 
red of placing him in a vacancy, as lieutenant of the 
Comet bomb. This was given to him by Commo¬ 
dore Knowles, on the 25th May, 1744, and was con¬ 
firmed on the 8th August, 1745 ; shortly after which 
his ship was paid off. 

This year, 1745, which furnishes a memorable 
epoch in the annals of Great Britain, was favourable 
to the prospects of Mr. Howe. The mistaken loyalty 
of the Scots to the family of an unfortunate sovereign 
having burst out in that year into open rebellion, 
the French, never backward when any opportunity 
affords to add to the embarrassments of England, 
availed themselves of this favourable event, by not 
only encouraging, but materially assisting, the Pre- 


I.] ADVANCEMENT IN THE NAVY. 11 

tender to try his desperate fortunes, by a landing on 
the coast of Scotland. For this purpose, a fleet of 
frigates, small vessels, and transports, laden with 
stores and ammunition, and having the Pretender on 
board, was prepared at Ostend and Dunkirk. To 
watch the movements of this armament in the Chan¬ 
nel and the North Sea, a very considerable fleet was 
stationed in the Downs, the command of which was 
given to Admiral Vernon, recently returned, with a 
high character as a gallant naval officer, from the West 
Indies; and under him was Vice-Admiral Martin, 
with Commodore Smith on the coast of Scotland. 
Several frigates and sloops were detached to the 
North Seas, and in the command of one of the latter, 
the Baltimore, we find the name of Commander 
Howe; but whether the promotion was made through 
the interest of Admiral Vernon, who had not yet lost 
his well-earned popularity, does not appear; though it 
may be inferred that he was a favourite with the 
Admiral, by his being selected to carry up a loyal 
address to his Majesty from the fleet under the 
Admiral’s orders. It is not unlikely, indeed, that 
this may have been the occasion of his promotion, as 
it appears that he saw the Duke of Bedford, then 
first lord of the Admiralty, at Woburn Abbey, who 
told him, that being employed in raising a regiment 
in Bedfordshire, he could not present the address 
himself, but would send it to Lord Sandwich, second 
in the Board of Admiralty, to present to his Majesty. 


12 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

Vernon was unquestionably a brave man himself, and 
loved to encourage enterprise in others; it is not impro¬ 
bable, therefore, that he should patronise young Howe. 

The fate of this gallant admiral was a peculiarly 
hard one, and such as would now be deemed as un¬ 
just as it was cruel. He fell a sacrifice to the writing 
of two foolish squibs, in the shape of pamphlets, 
against his employers; but they were smothered in 
their own smoke, went off without fire and without 
noise, scorching nobody but himself. He was never¬ 
theless summoned to attend the Board of Admiralty; 
the pamphlets were shewn to him, and he was desired 
by the Duke of Bedford to give a categorical answer, 
Ay or No, whether he was the author and publisher. 
He said he fully admitted the authority of the Lord 
High Admiral, and, as a military officer, owed all obe¬ 
dience to his orders ; but that he looked upon the ques¬ 
tion now asked, as one of a private nature, which he 
apprehended their Lordships had no right to ask him, 
and that he was not bound to answer it. The Duke 
said, if that was the only answer he meant to give, he 
might withdraw. The next day he received a letter 
from the Secretary, to say that the Duke of Bedford 
having laid the pamphlet before the King, his Ma¬ 
jesty had been pleased to direct their Lordships to 
strike his name out of the list of flag-officers. There 
could be no excuse for this rash and tyrannical pro¬ 
ceeding, as the wished-for end might legally have 
been accomplished by a court-martial. Walpole calls 


I.] ADVANCEMENT IN THE NAVY. 13 

Vernon a silly, noisy admiral, so popular, that he 
was chosen into Parliament for several places, had 
his head painted on every sign, and his birth-day 
kept twice in one year. His fall, however, is not a 
singular instance of the fate that sometimes awaits 
vulgar popularity; but this is the last exercise on 
record of so harsh and summary a proceeding 
against a gallant flag-officer. “ To say he was a 
brave, a gallant man,” says Charnock, “ would be a 
needless repetition of what no person has ever pre¬ 
sumed to deny him. His judgment, his abilities, as 
a statesman, are unquestioned; and his character, as 
a man of strict integrity and honour, perfectly un¬ 
sullied.” 

That the Board of Admiralty is fully invested with 
the dangerous and equally disagreeable authority to 
erase an individual’s name from the list of naval 
officers, and thus for ever ruin his prospects in life, 
cannot be called in question; but it ought to be re¬ 
sorted to only in cases where the Act of Parliament, 
by which naval discipline is governed and upheld, 
precludes the exercise of such a jurisdiction as is 
thereby provided; and where the Board of Admiralty, 
as the law now stands, is imperatively called upon to 
act in cases that cannot be brought before a court- 
martial. When the necessity for such a proceeding 
occurs, as that of striking an officer’s name from 
the list, the public and the individual may be well 
assured, that a body of three or four highly honour¬ 
able men, naturally prejudiced in favour of a brother 


14 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

officer, would be slow to condemn him to disgrace, 
and, in some cases, to absolute and hopeless poverty, 
without having first satisfied themselves, that a court- 
martial, if one could have been held, would have pro¬ 
nounced the same or a similar sentence. 

The first occasion, on which the name of Howe is 
publicly mentioned, is in the account of the siege of 
Fort William, and it occurs in the Military Journal, 
in which is the following entry:—“Tuesday, 18th 
March. The Baltimore, Captain Richard Howe, went 
up towards Killmady Barns, in order to protect the 
landing of our men. He fired several shot, and 
threw some cohorn shells, and set one hovel on lire; 
but could not attempt landing, for the rebels were 
entrenched by a hollow road or rill, and in great 
numbers. The Baltimore’s guns, being only four- 
pounders, had no effect on the stone-walls of these 
barns, which the rebels had before loop-holed. We 
brought our people back without any damage.” 

A more distinguished service, however, awaited 
him. Having joined the Greyhound frigate, ‘com¬ 
manded by Captain Noel, on the 1st May, two large 
ships were seen in a place called Loch Nouy in 
Mordant, one of which, wearing a broad pendant, was 
considered to be the Commodore. An action speedily 
commenced, in which the Greyhound, having her 
fore-topsail-ties shot away and most of the braces, 
found it necessary to come to anchor with a spring, 
which enabled Captain Noel to rake the largest of 
the Frenchmen, as she kept turning just to leeward 


I.] ADVANCEMENT IN THE NAVY. 15 

of him. “The Baltimore,” says Captain Noel, “fol¬ 
lowed me, and also began on the Commodore, but 
was received with a very smart fire, which cut her 
rigging so as to oblige her to anchor and repair it. 
The Baltimore then cut and came a second time to 
the attack, but was again repulsed, and obliged to 
let go her anchor to cast, then cut and stood off, 
her foremast and bowsprit very much wounded, and 
mainyard shot away in the quarter of the yard, and 
never an anchor left except her sheet, the arm of 
which had been broke before. I sent him our stream 
anchor. By this time the Frenchmen were both at 
anchor, having driven to leeward out of point-blank 
shot.” He then goes on to say, “the French ships 
had one of them 34 guns, 24 nine-pounders and 10 
four-pounders ; the other 32 guns, 22 nine-pounders 
and 10 four-pounders. Commander Howe was se¬ 
verely wounded in the head, which at first was sup- 
poed to be fatal; but he was only stunned, or, as 
Captain Noel, who went on board the Baltimore, has 
it, “he was a little disordered.” Previous to this 
action he found, on his arrival in England, that he 
had been raised to the rank of Captain, and appointed 
to the Triton, on the 20th April 1747, in which he 
was ordered to convoy the trade to Oporto and Lis¬ 
bon ; and at the latter place to receive on board trea¬ 
sure, and bring it to England, without taking charge 
of the trading ships. Here, however, having met 
with the Rippon, destined for the coast of Guinea, 


16 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

whose Captain, Holborne, was unwell, they agreed 
to exchange ships, which being approved, Captain 
Howe received his commission for the Rippon on 
the 11th September 1747, proceeded to run down 
the coast, as was then usual, and afterwards to cross 
the Atlantic for the Leeward Islands. Rear-Admiral 
Knowles was at that time commanding a squadron 
on the Jamaica station, and having heard of Captain 
Howe being at Barbados, writes thus to the Board of 
Admiralty: “ If their Lordships would indulge me with 
Captain Howe’s coming from the Leeward Islands 
down here, as he is a pupil of my own and equally de¬ 
sirous of being with me, I should esteem it a favour.” 

Permission was granted, and he arrived at Ja¬ 
maica, just late enough to miss the opportunity of 
distinguishing himself in the action with the Spanish 
fleet off the Havannah, on the 2nd October 1748, 
in which the Cornwall, bearing the flag of the Ad¬ 
miral, suffered so much, that it was thought expe¬ 
dient to send her home in the spring. Howe was 
appointed her captain, and intelligence having ar¬ 
rived of a Treaty of General Peace being signed at 
Aix-la-Chapelle, on the 18th October 1748, he re¬ 
turned in the Cornwall to England. 

The calm and tranquil life which a sailor is com¬ 
pelled generally to live on shore, compared with the 
active and unremitting employment afloat, which 
had been the case with respect to the subject of this 
memoir, during the space of ten years, but ill accords 


I.] ADVANCEMENT IN THE NAVY. 17 

with that constant wear and tear both of body and 
mind which the command and the various duties of 
a ship of war require, to say nothing of the anxious 
and ardent desire of distinction, with which every lover 
of his profession is imbued. Captain Howe seems 
to have felt this languor, arising from a state of inac¬ 
tivity ; and though a time of profound peace offers but 
little prospect for the acquisition of fame or fortune, 
yet while the pendant is over head, there is always 
an opportunity of acquiring knowledge in the pro¬ 
fession, and also of being in the way of taking 
advantage of anything that may turn up. He there¬ 
fore, in the early part of the year 1751, obtained a 
commission for the Glory, of 44 guns, destined to run 
down the coast of Africa, to visit the settlements on 
that coast, and for the protection of the traders. The 
only piece of service, he was here called upon to 
perform, was to redress the wrongs of which the 
merchants of Cape Coast Castle had to complain, on 
the part of the Dutch Governor of the neighbouring 
castle Elmina. With the Swan sloop under his 
orders, he anchored close under the walls of the castle, 
and sent Commander Digges with a letter addressed 
to General Van Voorst, demanding immediate satis¬ 
faction for the injury done to the English merchants, 
and also a restitution of some free negroes, whom he 
had put in prison. The Governor hesitated to com¬ 
ply, but Howe gave him distinctly to understand 
that, although the two nations were at peace, he felt 


18 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


himself authorized, by his instructions, to prevent any 
communication of Dutch ships with the fort, until his 
demands should be complied with; on which the 
Dutch Governor acquiesced, and all differences were 
adjusted. 

On his return home, at the close of the year 1751, 
he was appointed to the honorary command of the 
Mary yacht, vacant by the death of her captain ; but 
still desirous of more active employment, he left the 
yacht on being commissioned to the Dolphin frigate, 
in the month of May 1752. In this ship he was 
employed about two years in the protection of the 
trade in the Straits of Gibraltar and along the Coast 
of France, Spain, and Barbary, in the Mediterranean, 
and returned to England in the year 1754. The 
knowledge he acquired of the navigation of the Straits, 
the set of the current in the centre, and of the eddies 
on the Gibraltar and Barbary shores, he had an op¬ 
portunity of bringing into action many years after 
this visit. 




II.] 


EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 


19 


CHAPTER II. 

EXPEDITIONS TO THE COAST OF FRANCE. 

Howe having obtained th$ rank of Captain joins Admiral Boscawen 
in the Dunkirk—proceeds off Newfoundland—Howe attacks the 
Alcide and Lys—Various accounts of this action—Commands a 
squadron for the protection of Jersey and Guernsey—Takes Chausse 
—French abandon their designs on the Channel Islands—Expedi¬ 
tion to the Coast of France on a great scale—Characters of those 
employed—Howe joins it in the Magnanime—Attacks and carries 
Isled’Aix—Discussions of the military officers respecting the attack 
upon Rochefort—given up—Another expedition—Mr. Pitt’s object 
in persevering in them—Its naval force—Extent of naval and land 
forces—Howe appointed to command the one, as Commodore—the 
Duke of Marlborough the other—Land at Concale—St. Maloes— 
Howe’s character—They fail before Cherburg, and return—A 
third expedition—the land forces under Lieut. General Bligh— 
Attack Cherburg and succeed—Proceed to the westward—land 
troops at St. Lunaire Bay—Arrangements for embarking troops 
at St. Cas—disasters at this place—Return to England. 

Hitherto the character of young Howe has been 
exhibited only as an officer employed in the ordinary 
course of service, no opportunity having occurred for 
the display of those splendid talents, which in after 
years distinguished the mature man. He had the good 
fortune, however, to reach the highest step ol rank, 
short of a flag officer, about the twentieth year of his 
age, and the sixth of his servitude. But such rapid 
advancement does not appear, in his case, to have 

c 2 


20 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

been the result of any undue influence,’ either from 
party or family connexions; in those days such early 
promotion was not unusual, and numerous instances 
might be quoted, even of a much later date, of youths 
having risen to the rank of captain at the age of fifteen 
or sixteen. That abuse, for such it certainly was, has 
long ceased to exist, and no such untimely progress 
can by possibility be made in our days. A youth, who 
now enters the naval profession, must serve six years 
in one or more of His Majesty’s ships, and must have 
completed his nineteenth year of age, before he can 
be examined even, as to his qualifications to render 
him eligible for the commission of lieutenant; he 
must serve two years more in a sea-going ship, to 
qualify for the commission of commander; and one 
year, for that of captain. So that the very earliest 
period, supposing not a day to be lost, at which a 
naval officer can now arrive at the rank of captain, is 
when he has completed the age of twenty-two; and 
he may deem himself fortunate, if he acquires that 
rank by the time he is thirty; many indeed are they 
who never attain it at all. Such is the effect of the 
long list of captains, amounting, in the year 1837, to 
about 760, instead of 284, the number on the list in 
the year 1750; and of admirals, in the former year, 
136, in the place of 18 ! in the latter. 

In the course of the year 1754 Captain Howe 
returned to England, where he w T as not suffered long 
to remain unemployed on shore; for early in 1755, 


II.] 


EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 


21 


in consequence of certain intelligence reaching the 
Government that powerful armaments were preparing 
in the ports of Brest and Rochefort, supposed to he 
destined for an attack on our settlements in North 
America, a squadron was ordered to he immediately 
put into a state of readiness, to proceed to that quarter, 
the command of which was given to Admiral Bos- 
cawen. Towards the end of April, the Admiral put to 
sea with eleven sail of the line and a frigate, and was 
afterwards reinforced with six sail of the line and a 
frigate under Admiral Holbourne. In this fleet Cap¬ 
tain Howe had the command of the Dunkirk, of 60 
guns, to which ship he had been appointed on the 
20th January 1755. 

Though the intentions of France, with regard to 
the annoyance of our American trade and settlements, 
and the protection of their own, could not be doubted, 
she had neither yet declared war, nor committed any 
act of direct and unequivocal hostility. In this state 
of doubt and suspension Admiral Boscawen sailed 
from Plymouth on the 27th April, having on board 
two regiments of troops. The French fleet, under 
the command of Admiral Bois de la Motte, had pre¬ 
viously put to sea unperceived, though not unex¬ 
pected ; but Boscawen was on the ground before him, 
and took up a position with his fleet off Cape Race, 
the southernmost point of Newfoundland, as the most 
likely place to hear of, or to intercept, if necessary, the 
French fleet, whose destination then was not doubted 


22 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

to be the river St. Lawrence, either to make an 
attack on our Canadian establishments, or to reinforce 
and protect their own. The French Admiral having, 
as is supposed, learned the position taken up by Bos- 
cawen, divided his squadron into two parts, one portion 
of which passed through the Straits of Belleisle, a 
most dangerous navigation, never probably before 
attempted by a ship of the line; the other portion 
gained the St. Lawrence by the usual passage round 
Newfoundland, and escaped the British fleet, owing 
to the fogs that prevail there, more especially in the 
spring of the year. In one of these fogs the ships of 
the British squadron had been dispersed, and the 
Dunkirk and Defiance, of 60 guns each, on the fog 
clearing away, found themselves not only separated 
from the rest, but very near to two of De la Motte’s 
ships, the Alcide and the Lys, the former of 64 guns, 
and 480 men, and the latter pierced for the same 
number ; but being armed en flute mounted only 22: 
this ship had on board eight companies of soldiers. 

No declaration of war on either side had yet reached 
Boscawen, but his instructions appear to have fully 
prepared him for hostilities. It required therefore no 
little delicacy on the part of Captain Howe in what 
manner to act. His good sense, however, dictated to 
him the only line of conduct he had to pursue. Under 
a press of sail, he first came alongside the sternmost 
ship, the Alcide, and having hailed the captain in the 
usual manner, requested he would proceed with him 


II.] 


EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 


23 


to the British Admiral, then in sight at the distance 
of about six miles. Monsieur Houquart, the captain, 
immediately asked whether it was peace or war? 
Captain Howe repeated his desire that he would 
accompany him to the admiral, to prevent any order, 
which he might receive by signal, to fire into him for 
not having brought to when pursued, which signal he 
should be bound to obey. During the parley the signal 
was actually thrown out from the flag-ship to engage. 
The result is told in so many different ways, and in so 
loose a manner, which unfortunately is the case in all 
naval transactions throughout the reign of George II., 
that it may be as well to give both the admiral’s 
account of this smart action, and that which appeared 
in the Gazette, for they do not agree. They are each 
dated the 22nd June, and both appear to have been re¬ 
ceived on the same day. Admiral Boscawen says, “ On 
the ninth (June) at 4 p.m., we saw three sail of large 
ships to windward; I hoisted French colours, and they 
bore down to us, but it proving little wind, they could 
not join us, and by our keeping the wind all night, at 
daylight in the morning we saw them, about six or 
seven miles upon our lee bow; they made signals, but 
not being answered by us, made all the sail they could 
from us. About noon. Captain Howe, in the Dunkirk, 
came alongside of the sternmost, when observing the 
French ship did not shorten sail, I made the signal to 
engage, which was directly obeyed by Captain Howe, 
and returned by the French ship, but in a very few 


24 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


minutes he was brought by the lee, and upon the 
Torbay’s coming up (which was the next ship) and 
firing one gun only, she struck, the Alcide of 64 guns, 
four hundred and eighty men, commanded by Monsieur 
Houquart, about 4 p.m. ; on the 10th theLys, pierced 
for 64 guns, having on board four companies of the 
regiment La Reine, and four companies of the regi¬ 
ment Languedoc, after firing stern chace for two 
hours, struck to the Fogueux and Defiance, but a fog 
coming on, the third ship, the Dauphin Royal (who 
the French say is the best sailor in France) escaped 
the same night.” 

The Gazette, dated July 15, says, “By letters 
received by the Gibraltar man-of-war, from Vice- 
Admiral Boscawen, dated off Louisburgh the 22nd 
June 1755, there is an account that, on the 10th of 
that month, the Alcide, a French man-of-war of 64 
guns and 480 men, commanded by M. Houquart, and 
the Lys, commanded by Monsieur Lageril, pierced for 
64 guns, but mounting only 22, and having eight 
companies of land forces on board, being separated 
from the French squadron commanded by M. Bois 
de la Motte, fell in with the English fleet off the 
banks of Newfoundland, and that a skirmish happened 
between the said French men-of-war and His Ma¬ 
jesty’s ships the Dunkirk and Defiance, in which the 
Alcide and Lys were taken. The French ship the 
Dauphin Royal, which had been in company with 
the two above mentioned, disappeared in the fog.” 


II.] EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 25 

Here we have no account of the Fogueux, or of the 
Torbay (the flag ship) firing a gun, which, if she did, 
must have been a very distant and innocent one. 
Horace Walpole generally got at the true pith of the 
story, and he thus writes to his correspondent, Horace 
Mann:— 

“ Our correspondence will revive—the war is be¬ 
gun—I cannot refer you to the Gazette, for it is so 
prudent, and so afraid that Europe should say we 
began first (and unless the Gazette tell, how should 
Europe know ?) that it tells nothing at all. The 
case was, Captain Howe and Captain Andrews lay in 
a great fog that lasted near fifty hours, within speech 
of three French ships, and within sight of nine more. 
The Commandant asked if it were war or peace? 
Howe replied he must wait for his Admiral’s signal, 
hut advised the Frenchman to prepare for war. Im¬ 
mediately Boscawen gave the signal and Howe at¬ 
tacked. The French, who lost 130 men to our 13, 
soon struck; we took one large ship, one inconsider¬ 
able and seven thousand pounds; the third ship 
escaped in the fog.” The log of the Dunkirk, in the 
usual laconic style, thus relates the action:—“ Being 
got up with the sternmost, the Alcide of 64 guns, a 
little before noon, and the Captain refusing to shorten 
sail, engaged with (the signal having been made by 
the Vice-Admiral) and brought the ship to. Men 
killed in the action 7, rendered unserviceable from 
wounds 5; wounded in a lesser degree 20.” 


26 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

The Admiral, having ascertained that the rest of 
the French fleet had arrived safe at Quebec, proceeded 
to Halifax and, leaving Rear-Admiral Holbourne 
with a few ships to blockade Louisburgh, returned 
to England with the prisoners and money taken in 
the two ships, amounting to about 8000/. Trifling 
as this affair of the Alcide and Lys would be con¬ 
sidered at any other time, in a national point of view, 
it appears to have produced a great moral effect in 
England; the people, and the mercantile interests in 
particular, having been kept a long time in a state of 
suspense between peace and war. “Though this 
action,” says that excellent historian Rapin, “was 
far from answering the grand destination of the fleet, 
yet when the news of it reached England, it was of 
infinite service to the public credit of every kind, as 
the manner in which it was conducted was a plain 
proof that the British Government was resolved to 
observe no further measures with the French, but to 
take or destroy their ships wherever they could be 
met with.” 

Thus commenced the war with France, known in 
our history as the Seven Years’ War, in the naval 
part of which Captain Howe, by his zeal, ability, and 
great exertions, raised for himself a name that led 
uninterruptedly and rapidly to the highest honours of 
the profession. In the early part of the year 1756 
he was chiefly and actively employed in the Channel 
service, and took some valuable prizes returning from 


EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 


27 


a.] 


the West Indies, laden with sugar, coffee, and other 
produce of the colonies. The French, in the mean 
time, were marching down troops to the coast about 
Granville and St. Maloes, and making great pre¬ 
parations for an invasion of Guernsey and Jersey. 
Reinforcements of troops were sent from England to 
these islands ; and such was the confidence which the 
naval administration placed in the skill, energy, and 
bravery of Howe, that, in June 1756, they conferred 
on this young officer the command of a squadron of 
ships, to be employed in the protection of, and to give 
confidence as well as assistance to, these channel 
islands. His instructions were to harass the enemy 
by every possible means, and to take possession of 
Chausse and its islands, on which an Irish brigade, 
in the service of France, was stationed; and further, 
to disturb the intercourse of the enemy between their 
northern and western provinces; in short, to harass 
the coast wherever it should be practicable, and to 
capture and destroy their coasting trade. 

For this purpose, the squadron placed under his 
orders consisted of the 


Dunkirk 
Rochester 
Ludlow Castle . 
Dover 


480 men. Deal Castle 
350 Queenborough . 

250 Ferret 

250 Happy 


160 men. 
160 
100 

50, 


together with four transports, conveying troops for 
the defence of the islands of Guernsey and Jersey; 
and such was the expedition with which this arma- 


28 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

ment was prepared for sea that, on the 13th July, 
we find Howe proceeding from Jersey, having first 
taken on hoard four companies of General Block- 
land’s regiment, and one of invalids belonging to 
Guernsey, to the island of Chausse. He immedi¬ 
ately summoned the fort to surrender, which the 
Commandant as speedily complied with and gave up 
the place, on being permitted to retire with military 
honours to Granville. Finding, however, on exami¬ 
nation of the island, that it would occupy a consider¬ 
able time, and a great number of men, to put the 
works into a proper state of defence, and would re¬ 
quire moreover at least 500 troops to be left for 
its protection, besides occasioning a very heavy ex¬ 
pense to the country, Howe determined at once to 
blow up the works, which he speedily and effectually 
accomplished. And having ascertained that the 
French, by the blow thus opportunely struck, had 
deemed it expedient to abandon their designs on the 
Channel Islands, and withdrawn their troops towards 
Brest and the ports lower down on the coast, he left 
a part of his squadron to annoy and capture their 
coasting trade, and returned in the Dunkirk to Ply¬ 
mouth Sound, towards the end of the year, to refit. 

The success of this little expedition encouraged 
the ministry to extend the plan of operations against 
the ports and towns on the French coast; and a fleet 
for this purpose was assembled at Spithead, under 
the orders of Sir Edward Hawke, of which Rear- 


II.] EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 29 

Admiral Knowles was second in command, and in 
which Howe bore a distinguished share. The fleet 
consisted of sixteen sail of the line, two frigates, five 
sloops, two bombs, two fire-ships, and a number of 
transports, having on hoard about 7000 land forces, 
under the command of Sir John Mordaunt. The 
several characters of the land and sea officers, em¬ 
ployed on this occasion, are dexterously, and not 
inaccurately drawn by Horace Walpole in his usual 
laconic style. “ Their faults,” he says, “ flowed 
from no want of courage. Mordaunt had a sort of 
alacrity in daring, hut from ill health was grown 
more indifferent to it.” The character of Conway, 
the second in command, is thus sketched:—“ Cold 
in his deportment, and with a dignity of soul that 
kept him too much above familiarity, he missed 
that affection from his brother officers, which his 
unsullied virtues and humanity deserved; for he 
wanted the extrinsic of merit. Added to these 
little failings, he had a natural indecision in his tem¬ 
per, weighing with too much minuteness, and too 
much fluctuation, whatever depended on his own 
judgment. Cornwallis was a man of a very different 
complexion; as cool as Conway and as brave, he was 
indifferent to everything but to being in the right. 
He held fame cheap, and smiled at reproach. Ge¬ 
neral Howard was one of those sort of characters who 
are only to be distinguished by having no peculiarity 
of character. Under these was Wolfe, a young offi- 


30 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


cer who had contracted reputation from his intelli¬ 
gence of discipline, and from the perfection to which 
he had brought his own regiment. He looked on 
danger as the favourable moment that would call 
forth his talents. Sir Edward Hawke, who com¬ 
manded the fleet, was a man of steady courage, of 
fair appearance, and who even did not want a plau¬ 
sible kind of sense; but he was really weak, and 
childishly abandoned to the guidance of a Scotch 
secretary. The next was Knowles, a vain man, of 
more parade than real bravery. Howe, brother of 
the lord of that name, was the third on the naval list. 
He was undaunted as a rock, and as silent—the cha¬ 
racteristics of his whole race. He and Wolfe soon 
contracted a friendship, like the union of cannon and 
gunpowder.” 

In equipping this large armament, the government 
had two objects in view: the one, to destroy the 
enemy’s principal naval arsenals, and burn, sink, or 
capture his shipping : the other, the principal one, 
to create a diversion in favour of the King of Prussia 
and the Duke of Cumberland, by compelling the 
French to withdraw a part of their continental army 
for the protection of their own coast. The first ob¬ 
ject of this expedition was, as stated in a joint letter 
from Mr. Secretary Pitt (afterwards Lord Chatham), 
to Sir Edward Hawke and Sir John Mordaunt, “ to 
attempt, as far as shall be found practicable, a de¬ 
scent on the French coast, at or near Rochefort, in 


II.] EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 31 

order to attack if practicable, and, by a vigorous im¬ 
pression, force that place ; and to burn and destroy, 
to the utmost of your power, all shipping, docks, ma¬ 
gazines, and arsenals, that shall be found there, and 
exert such other efforts as shall be judged most pro¬ 
per for annoying the enemy.” 

A detachment of the fleet, consisting of the Nep¬ 
tune, bearing the flag of Admiral Knowles, the 
Magnanime, BarfleUr, America, Burford, Royal 
William, and Alcide, together with the transports, 
were ordered by Sir Edward Hawke to proceed 
to Basque Roads, to attack, and endeavour to get 
possession of, the Isle d’Aix, as the prelude to a fur¬ 
ther attempt on Rochefort. In this fleet Captain the 
Hon. Richard Howe commanded the Magnanime of 
74 guns, to which ship he had been removed on the 
13th June, the same day on which Captain Robert 
Digby was appointed to the Dunkirk, so that Howe’s 
services, in the latter, had been continuous till his 
transfer to the Magnanime, one of the finest and most 
favourite ships in the class of 74’s. 

On the 8th September the squadron left Spithead, 
and on the 22nd anchored in Basque Roads. On the 
23rd the Vice-Admiral prepared to attack the Isle 
d’Aix; two French ships of the line, that were at 
anchor off the island, on seeing the British ships under 
weigh, slipped their cables and ran into the river 
Charente. About the middle of the day, as the ships 
approached the island, the batteries opened their fire 


32 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

of shot and shells. The Magnanime had been or¬ 
dered to lead, and Captain Howe stood on direct for 
the fort, with that steady resolution that never for¬ 
sook him, reserving his fire until he advanced within 
forty yards of the fort, when he brought up with a 
spring on his cable, and opened so tremendous and 
well-directed a fire, that in about half an hour the 
enemy were completely driven from their guns and 
surrendered. In the fort were mounted twenty-eight 
pieces of cannon, and eight large mortars; and on 
the tower were two handsome and highly-finished 
brass twelve-pounders, which Sir John Mordaunt 
presented to Captain Howe, in testimony of his 
steady bravery and brilliant service on that day, re¬ 
questing him to place them as a trophy and, at the 
same time, an useful ornament to the Magnanime’s 
quarter-deck. 

In Sir Edward Hawke’s letter reporting tins ser¬ 
vice, he says, that in order to secure a safe landiiig 
for the troops, he directed Rear-Admiral Brodrick, 
with Captains Denis, Douglas, and Buckle, to sound 
and reconnoitre the shore of the main, and make their 
report to him. “ After maturely considering it, I 
was of opinion,” says the Admiral, “ they might land.” 
Much time, however, was wasted in discussing the 
probability of effecting a landing at Fouras, and 
marching from thence upon Rochefort. “ Conway 
twice proposed this scheme. Nobody approved of it. 
Conway grew impatient, and pressed for some action. 


II.] EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 33 

His importunity at last prevailed for an attack to be 
made on Fouras; all the Generals resolved to be pre¬ 
sent, and the first division actually embarked. The 
night was clear, but the wind blew from the shore ; 
Howe told them it was not safe at that time; and 
Wolfe pronounced it would be bloody work. They 
were ordered back from the boats.” This is Wal¬ 
pole’s story; and he adds that Conway took a cutter 
and twenty marines, and went to survey the coast. A 
battery fired on them, and one of the rowers said, “ Sir, 
we are in great danger.” He replied coolly, “ Pho, 
they cannot hurt usand, turning to young Fitzroy, 
he said, “ Now, if they would not say I was boyish, I 
would land with these twenty marines, to show them 
what we can do.” 

After as much time had been lost as was sufficient 
for the French to assemble a force at Rochefort, just 
as, on a later occasion, they succeeded by delay in 
marching an army to protect Antwerp, it ended in Sir 
J. Mordaunt desiring that a council of war might be 
assembled to consider of it; there it was granted by 
everybody “ that the landing could be effected.” Sir 
John Mordaunt, however, ealled a second council of 
war, which unanimously agreed that it was advisable 
to land the troops “ to attack the forts leading to, and 
upon the mouth of, the river Charente.” Immediately 
on this, the disposition was made for landing, under 
the direction of Rear-Admiral Brodrick and all the 
captains of the squadron. Part of the troops were 

D 


34 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

actually in the boats, when the two following letters 
were received by Sir Edward Hawke :— 

“ Sir,—I have prepared all the boats, with proper 
officers, to land the troops, agreeable to your order; 
but am to acquaint you that the Generals are come 
to a resolution not to land to-night, and to wait till 
daylight, when they can have a full view of the ground 
where they are to land. 

“ I am, &c. 

“ Thomas Brodrick.” 
The other is peculiarly laconic :— 

“ Sir,—Upon the receipt of your letter, I talked it 
over with the other land officers, who were of our 
councils of war, and we all agree in returning directly 
to England. 

“ I am, Sir, &c. 

“ J. Mordaunt 

So much for “ councils of war,” which have too fre¬ 
quently been held for no other purpose than to furnish 
an excuse for not doing that, which duty and instruc¬ 
tions required; but here there was no excuse, as the 
officers of both services had agreed on the practica¬ 
bility of landing the troops. But the fort of Fouras, 
which commands the entrance of the channel of the 
Charente, was the ostensible and avowed obstacle 
against a landing. It was stated that large ships 
could not approach sufficiently near for their cannon 
to reach it; if so, neither could its guns reach the ships. 


II.] EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 35 

But it was not necessary that the landing of the troops 
to march upon Rochefort should have been effected 
within reach of the shot of that weak fort: it might 
have been accomplished much nearer to Rochefort. 
On examination of the French pilot Thierri, who had 
carried the Magnanime close to the walls of Aix, he 
gave his decided opinion that the approach was prac¬ 
ticable, and volunteered to take the same ship before 
Fouras. He was told that the Barfleur drew less 
water, and he might take her; but he persisted in 
preferring the Magnanime. Being pressed on this 
point, as to his reason for the preference, he replied, 
“ Parceque le Capitaine Howe est jeune et brave." 
It was attempted to throw’ discredit on Thierri ? s evi¬ 
dence, and to accuse him of ignorance. Sir Edward 
Hawke, however, in his letter to Mr. Pitt, says, 
“ The pilot of the Magnanime has behaved like a 
man of bravery and skill, and as such I beg leave to 
recommend him to you.” 

The joint instructions for the combined operations 
being drawn up and communicated by Mr. Pitt, 
Captain Howe, being also under two Admirals, did 
not think it any part of his duty to inform the Admi¬ 
ralty of the proceedings of the military on shore, but 
remained, as Walpole says 3 “ silent as a rock.” The 
Admiralty, however, expressed their wishes, in a 
letter received at St. Maloes, to know from himself 
what was going on, to which he replied: “ With re¬ 
gard to the operations of the troops, I was silent, as 

d 2 


36 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

not being at that time well enough informed thereof, 
and to avoid the mention of any particulars that might 
prove not exactly agreeable to the truth.” It may 
he said, indeed, that the character of Howe was emi¬ 
nently distinguished by modesty and truth. Whether 
or not he was satisfied with the proceedings of the 
military upon this occasion, nowhere appears; but in 
afterlife his own letters are sufficiently explicit on 
this point, that a conjoint expedition is rarely well 
conducted,—in which opinion Nelson entirely con¬ 
curred. 

The mortification at the failure of the expedition, 
it is scarcely necessary to say, was felt by every naval 
officer concerned in it. Sir Edward Hawke, in his 
letter to Mr. Secretary Pitt, says, “ I beg leave to 
assure you. Sir, I have discharged my duty to my 
King and country with fidelity, diligence, and integ¬ 
rity, and wish more could have been done for the good 
of the service.” Nor was it any consolation for the 
disappointment of such a result to the brave officers 
of the navy, that Lieutenant-General Sir John Mor- 
daunt, after a long trial before a military court-mar¬ 
tial, on his return to England, was acquitted of the 
charges brought against him, which -were, <c that he 
had disobeyed his Majesty’s orders and instructions.” 

The failure of this enterprise cast a general gloom 
over the whole country, and the public, which seldom 
errs in its judgment on matters of this kind, as¬ 
cribed it wholly to the army. Disheartening, how- 


II.] EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 37 

ever, as the result was, it had the effect rather to sti¬ 
mulate, than to deter, the government from making 
a fresh attempt on the enemy’s coast, and the more 
so from certain intelligence received, that prepara¬ 
tions on a great scale were again making at St. 
Maloes to invade the islands of Jersey and Guernsey. 
It was not so much the object of Mr. Pitt to distress 
the inhabitants of the coast by destroying their trade 
and fishery, and burning their villages; his great 
mind soared far above making any such petty war¬ 
fare the main design of military operations ; but he 
considered them as the surest mode of alarming the 
French government, and inducing it to withdraw a 
portion of its forces from the continental war. It was 
therefore resolved to fit out another expedition on a 
more extensive scale, for the purpose of making a 
descent on different parts of the French coast; and 
in order to draw off the attention of the enemy, and 
prevent any serious interruption to the operations of 
the troops, a fleet of seventeen sail of the line and 
several frigates, under the command of Admiral 
Lord Anson, was prepared with all possible dispatch, 
and sailed from Spithead on the 1st of June 1758, 
to blockade Brest, where it was understood a naval 
armament of considerable force was in a forward state 
of preparation. On the same day—a day destined 
in future times to be propitious to the name of Howe 
—a squadron put to sea, consisting of the Essex 
of 64 guns, and 495 men, four ships of 50, three 
frigates of 36, three of 32, and three of 28 guns; 


38 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH 


besides eleven sloops, bombs, and fire-ships, thirty 
store-ships, cutters, tenders, and one hundred sail of 
transports. To the command of this powerful arma¬ 
ment Captain Howe was appointed as Commodore. 
He left his favourite ship, the* Magnanime, and 
hoisted his broad pendant in the Essex, as better 
adapted for the shallow waters on the coast of France. 

The command of the land forces was given to 
Lieut.-General Charles Duke of Marlborough, whose 
staff consisted of Lieut.-Generals Lord George Sack- 
ville and Earl of Ancram; Major-Generals Walde- 
grave, Mostyn, Dring, Boscawen, and Elliot; Briga¬ 
dier Elliot (afterwards Lord Heatlifield), commanding 
the Light Horse, Lieut.-Colonel Hotham, Adjutant- 
General, and Captain Watson, Quarter-master Ge¬ 
neral. Many young men of family accompanied the 
Duke as volunteers, among whom were Sir James 
Lowther, Sir John Armitage, Lord Viscount Downe, 
and several others. The land forces consisted of 
three regiments of Guards, commanded by General 
Drury, and other troops amounting to fifteen batta¬ 
lions, 400 Artillery, 540 Light Horse, making in 
the whole about 13,000 fighting men, sixty pieces of 
cannon, and fifty of various kinds of mortars. The 
name of Marlborough had, in former days, left an 
impression in France that did not lessen their alarm 
on hearing that a visit was probably intended for 
them by another of the same name, as Commander- 
in-Chief of the present powerful armament. 

The Duke and his staff, to the number of fifteen 


EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 


«.] 


39 


or sixteen persons, embarked on board the Essex, 
and about noon of the 1st of June the whole squadron 
got under way. Lord Anson and his fleet having pre¬ 
ceded them in the early part of the day. The weather 
becoming tempestuous, it was not till the morning of 
the 6th of June that they came to anchor in Concale 
Bay. The transports, having the Grenadiers on 
board, were ordered to stand in towards the shore 
under the protection of three of the frigates, into one 
of which, the Success, the Commodore shifted his 
broad pendant, that he might approach nearer the 
shore than he could do in the Essex. The battery 
fired upon the troops while in their flat-bottomed 
boats, but the well-directed fire from the frigates soon 
silenced the enemy’s guns, and the Grenadiers landed 
without further opposition; the French having fled 
with the utmost precipitation. The inhabitants of 
the village of Concale also deserted it, leaving that 
place to the mercy of the invaders, consisting only of 
a small party of soldiers and sailors, who, however, 
were unfortunately not restrained from plundering 
the houses; but the most discreditable, as well as 
barbarous and inhuman act was committed on the 
person of a highly respectable man, the Marquis 
Landal, intendant of the coast and Colonel of Militia. 
Unwilling to give up his castle without some show of 
resistance, to save his honor he refused to surrender, 
upon which he was shot dead on the spot. All this 
was paltry work enough, but it was all that was done 


40 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


at this place; and the French learned from subse¬ 
quent events, as Walpole says, that they were not to 
he conquered by every Duke of Marlborough. 

The next morning the whole army, except the 
third brigade which remained at Concale, marched 
in two columns toward St. Maloes, and encamped a 
little more than a mile from the town. The Light 
Horse advanced to the walls, and were saluted by 
the guns from the ramparts, which killed a few 
horses without any other loss. At night the same 
party, with the picquet of foot, made their way close 
under the walls to the harbour, where they found a 
50-gun ship, two 36-gun frigates, upwards of twenty 
privateers, and seventy or eighty merchant ships; to 
these the troops set fire, with combustibles provided 
for that purpose; the magazines of pitch, tar, and 
other naval stores, suffered the same fate. A dread¬ 
ful scene of conflagration soon took place, the flames 
continuing to rage the whole night without the least 
attempt from the garrison of any opposition. Pre¬ 
parations were now made for laying siege to the 
town; but the Duke, having received advice of a 
large force of the enemy collected to cut off his re¬ 
treat, and being informed that the siege would take 
up a month, for which the army was said not to be 
provided, he ordered the whole of the forces to strike 
their tents and return to Concale. The King, says 
Walpole, said to Lord Waldegrave, “ I never had any 
opinion of it: we shall brag of having burnt their ships. 


II.] EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 41 

and they of having driven us away.” “ It was said,” 
he adds, “ his grace and his troops remarked that Lord 
George Sackville was not among the first to court dan¬ 
ger, and that Howe, who never made a friendship hut 
at the mouth of a cannon, had conceived and expressed 
a strong aversion to him. Indeed,” he says, “ they 
agreed so ill, that one day Lord George, putting seve¬ 
ral questions to Howe, and receiving no answer, said, 
‘ Mr. Howe, don’t you hear me ? I have asked you 
several questions.’ Howe in his reply gave a true 
specimen of the 4 characteristics of his race,’ ‘ I don’t 
love questions.’ ” Churchill has the following coup¬ 
let on the Sackville family: 

“ Sackvilles alone anticipate defeat, 

And, ere they dare the battle, sound retreat.” 

The troops were now re-embarked, and orders 
given to hold themselves in readiness to land as soon 
as they should reach Granville Bay, distant about six 
leagues from St. Maloes; but the weather was so 
bad that it was deemed prudent to return to Concale 
Bay. For several days it continued wet and bois¬ 
terous with westerly gales, by which the squadron 
was driven far out to sea until the coast of the 
Isle of Wight was visible. On clearing up a little, 
they stood back for the French coast, and made it 
about Havre, where it was intended to land; and the 
Duke of Marlborough and Commodore Howe em¬ 
barked in a small cutter to examine the shore and 
the state of the adjacent country. Nothing, how- 


42 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

ever, was attempted here, nor does any report appear 
to have been made by Howe to the Admiralty; he 
having in fact received his instructions from Mr. 
Pitt. The whole fleet, on the 29th of June, bore 
away before the wind for Cherburg, and anchored 
at the distance of about two miles from the town. 
Six different batteries fired upon the transports, but 
without effect; troops in considerable numbers lined 
the beach. The Duke of Marlborough determined 
to land, while the frigates and bombs played upon 
the forts of Querqueville, L’Homet, and Gullet; 
but the preparations for these purposes were discon¬ 
tinued, in consequence of a violent gale of wind that 
sprung up suddenly, and rendered a landing utterly 
impracticable. The gale continued to increase and 
blew directly into the bay; the transports in work¬ 
ing out ran foul of each other, and with great diffi¬ 
culty escaped shipwreck on a lee-shore. It was, 
therefore, determined to make the best of their way 
to the English coast; and on the 1 st of July the 
whole fleet arrived at St. Helens, just one month 
after their departure from that anchorage. 

The return of this expedition, unproductive of any 
advantage, either to the nation or the persons em¬ 
ployed on it, fulfilled at least the prediction which 
George II. had pronounced upon it. But, mortifying 
as it must have been to the minister who planned it, 
the utter failure did not deter him from immediately 
following it up by another, and a third attempt, to 


n-3 


EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 


43 


harass the enemy’s coast, and destroy his ports, har¬ 
bours, and public property of every kind that should be 
found accessible. This was the ostensible object, and 
the only one much cared about by the public at large. 
But Mr. Pitt had still other objects in view besides 
the work of destruction, which was, indeed, considered 
by all sensible men as, in itself, unworthy the repu¬ 
tation of a power like England. The continental war 
was popular with the king and the administration, 
and the successes on the Rhine, together with the 
capture of Dusseldorf, encouraged the sending out an 
immediate reinforcement of British troops, in order 
to penetrate into the enemy’s country, while a power¬ 
ful descent on his coast could not fail to distract his 
operations, and draw off a portion of his army for its 
protection. Prince Ferdinand declared repeatedly to 
Mr. Pitt that these expeditions were of the greatest 
benefit, by dividing the attention of the troops of 
France—“ an affirmation,” says Walpole, “ of so 
little truth, that the Duke of Marlborough, in the 
hurry of their retreat, having left his silver tea-spoons 
behind him, the Due d’Aiguillon, politely to mark 
contempt, sent them him by a cartel ship.” 

The Duke of Marlborough and Lord George Sack- 
ville were pretty well sickened with their late cruise, 
but not more so than Howe was by being encum¬ 
bered with their assistance. These great officers felt 
no disposition to continue their services in combined 
operation with the navy on the coast of France, but 


44 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


willingly enough undertook to convey the forces des¬ 
tined for the continent, which were placed under the 
Duke’s immediate command, to be united to the army 
of Prince Ferdinand as Commander-in-Chief. 

Though there does not appear to have been the 
slightest disagreement of any kind between the mili¬ 
tary officers employed on the last expedition and the 
naval Commodore, who was a man of that equal tem¬ 
per not to be disturbed by trifling annoyances, nor to 
give umbrage to those whom his instructions directed 
him to receive on board his ship; yet the desertion of 
these great men, on the present occasion, gave a sort 
of discouraging tone among the officers of the army, 
and- particularly those of high rank, against em¬ 
barking on combined expeditions; nor were they 
backward in proclaiming their unwillingness to con¬ 
nect themselves with the naval service. So great, 
indeed, appears to have been the difficulty of pro¬ 
curing a Commander-in-Chief for the new naval ex¬ 
pedition, or rather the continuation of the old one, 
that the minister found himself reduced to the neces¬ 
sity of sending for a general officer from Ireland, 
nearly worn out with age, of no talents, but of unques¬ 
tioned bravery, unaccustomed to much active service, 
and especially the kind of service in contemplation. 
Lieutenant-General Bligh was ordered to proceed 
forthwith to London, and not a little surprised when 
informed of what was intended ; but, like a true old 
soldier, he felt it his duty, from principle, not to 


II.] EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 45 

decline the offer, though he had never before been 
employed on any similar active service. 

Commodore Howe, whose broad pendant continued 
to fly in the Essex, was reappointed to the command; 
and such was the activity he displayed in putting the 
squadron into a fit state for service at sea, and in 
refitting and provisioning the transports, which had 
suffered very materially by the bad weather when off 
Cherburg, that he reported the whole fleet ready to 
sail within one month after their return to St. Helens. 
The Lieutenant-General was also ready to embark 
the moment he should receive his instructions. On 
this occasion, another personage, of no small import¬ 
ance, embarked on board the Essex, for the purpose 
of being placed under the special charge of Com¬ 
modore Howe, by order of the King. This was 
no other than Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of 
York, then in his nineteenth year; with the view of 
being instructed in the duties of the service as a 
midshipman. Useless, and something more than 
useless, as such a person must have been in the Com¬ 
modore’s ship, it was, nevertheless, a marked proof of 
the confidence and high estimation in which the King 
held Captain Howe. 

The instructions received from the King, through 
the Secretary of State, point specifically to the de¬ 
struction of Cherburg. “ Our will and pleasure is, 
that you do exert your utmost endeavours to land, if 
it should be found practicable, with the troops under 
your command, at or near Cherburg, on the coast of 


46 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH 

Normandy, and to attack the batteries, forts, and town 
of Cherburg; and in case, by the blessing of God 
upon our arms, the said place shall be carried, and 
that our troops shall be able to maintain themselves 
there a competent time for demolishing and destroy¬ 
ing the port and basin, together with all the ships, 
naval stores and works, batteries, fortifications, ar¬ 
senals, and magazines, thereunto belonging, you are 
to use all possible means, effectually to demolish and 
destroy the same, &c.and they are further directed, 
should the attack on Cherburg not succeed, “ to 
carry a warm alarm along the coast of France, from 
the easternmost point of Normandy, as far westward 
as Morlaix inclusive.” 

Against Cherburg then, Commodore Howe, with 
his squadron and transports, set sail from St. Helens 
on the 1st of August, just one month after his return 
to that anchorage from the late expedition. On the 
6th they arrived in Cherburg road, late in the even¬ 
ing, and the bombs began immediately to play upon 
the town; but the next morning it was thought ex¬ 
pedient that the fleet and transports should proceed 
to the bay of Marais, two leagues west of Cherburg, 
where a more secure landing might be effected, and 
then, if successful, march to Cherburg, and attack 
the works in the rear. Here, however, they were 
opposed by about 3000 of the enemy, horse and foot, 
posted behind the sand-banks, with the apparent 
intention of disputing the landing of the English. 
Dispositions, however, were immediately made for 


II.] EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 47 

landing, and the Guards and Grenadiers, in flat-bot¬ 
tomed boats, succeeded in effecting it under cover of a 
smart fire from the frigates, bombs, and smaller ves¬ 
sels. General Drury attacked the enemy with such 
spirit and vigour, that the French quitted their post, 
and were pursued with great slaughter, with the loss 
of only twenty men killed and wounded on the side 
of the pursuers. The horse and artillery having 
landed, the following morning, without molestation, 
the army formed and marched forward in two co¬ 
lumns to Cherburg, which they entered, and took 
possession of without opposition, the garrison having 
abandoned the place on the approach of the British 
troops. On the 9th, Commodore Howe announces 
to the Admiralty the surrender of the town on the 
previous day, on the arrival of the troops before it; 
and that the forts and batteries along the coast were 
deserted as they advanced; and he adds, “ I moved 
the fleet this morning to Cherburg road, to be as¬ 
sisting in the further operation of the troops, as the 
Lieutenant-General may recommend/’ 

These operations terminated in the complete de¬ 
struction of the basins, and two piers forming the 
entrance into the harbour; of the harbour itself, so 
as to leave it in a state incapable of receiving ships 
of war of any size; the demolition of all the batteries, 
forts, and magazines there, as well as those along 
the coast; the burning of all the ships in the harbour, 
which amounted to about thirty sail: thus effectually 


48 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

completing the King’s instructions as to Cherburg. 
The quantity of iron cannon and mortars was im¬ 
mense, all of which were destroyed. Twenty-two 
brass ordnance, and three brass mortars, with about 
one hundred pieces of cannon, were brought away. 
The different kinds of ammunition—shells, shot, and 
powder—were destroyed or thrown into the sea. 
While these operations were going on, several skir¬ 
mishes took place at a short distance inland, where 
the French had formed, in one of which. Captain 
Lindsey, one of the most active, brave, and intelli¬ 
gent among the officers of the Light Horse, was 
wounded by a musket shot, of which he died, uni¬ 
versally lamented. 

Conformably with his instructions, the Commander- 
in-chief considered Granville ought to be the next 
object of attack; but as Cherburg no longer required 
any forces to protect it, and as it was known that 10,000 
of the enemy had been assembled in Normandy, who 
could easily advance to that neighbourhood, the inten¬ 
tion of attacking Granville was abandoned. Morlaix 
would have been the next place, but advices were re¬ 
ceived from England, that a large body of men had 
assembled at Brest, and in the vicinity, ready to op¬ 
pose any descent on that part of the coast. The Com¬ 
modore and General, therefore, thought they should 
best fulfil the King’s instructions by landing the 
troops at the bay of St. Lunaire, and marching them 
against St. Maloes, being about two leagues to the 


II.] EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 49 

eastward of that place. In proceeding thither, the 
fleet and transports were driven, by contrary winds, 
into Weymouth Roads, from whence they weighed 
the following day; hut owing to the badness of the 
weather, it was the 3rd of September before they 
came to anchor in St. Lunaire Bay. Next day the 
troops landed without opposition, and encamped on 
an eminence. Commodore Howe went on shore, 
taking with him Prince Edward, and they accom¬ 
panied the General to a village about three miles 
from St. Maloes, to reconnoitre the position which 
he meant to take up. The young Prince wdio, on 
his first joining the Essex, had requested the Com¬ 
modore that on all such occasions he might be at 
his side, could not well be refused permission to ac¬ 
company him on this excursion; but it is said to 
have nearly proved fatal to his Royal Highness; for 
the enemy, being apprized of the visit, plied them 
with cannon shot, one of which dropped close to the 
feet of the Prince. In this little expedition he was 
obliged to pass a night with the Commodore in a 
miserable hovel, and slept on a bundle of straw—a 
great change from the downy beds of a palace. 

The boisterous state of the weather made it dan¬ 
gerous for the fleet to remain in St. Lunaire Bay, 
and the Commodore apprized the General that it 
would be absolutely necessary to move them round 
to St. Cas Bay, where alone the troops could with 
safety re-embark, if necessary, there being at that 

E 


50 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

place a sandy beach, and shelter from the westerly 
gales. It was, therefore, unanimously resolved to 
give up the intended attack on St. Maloes, and that 
the army should begin their march the following day 
for St. Cas. On this march they were considerably 
harassed by small parties concealed in the woods 
and villages, and several officers and men were 
killed and wounded. The General sent a friar to 
acquaint the commanding officer of the enemy, that 
if they did not desist, he would reduce all the villages 
he passed into ashes; no answer was returned, and 
the General, therefore, gave orders to burn and de¬ 
stroy every place in their march. On reaching 
Martignon, the General intended to encamp there, 
with a view to carry the remainder of his Majesty’s 
instructions into effect, by creating all the alarm he 
could in the country, and thereby calling off troops 
from Germany, as those instructions pointed out to 
him. He discovered, however, from some deserters, 
that the enemy was encamped about two leagues off, 
in great strength, having been collected from dif¬ 
ferent parts of the province, and that they meant to 
give the English battle the next morning. It after¬ 
wards appeared they amounted to upwards of 
10,000 men, under the command of the Due 
d’Aguillon. 

On learning this the General sent his aid-de- 
camp to the Commodore, to acquaint him of his in¬ 
tention to march forthwith, and to embark the troops 


EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 


n.] 


51 


as soon as they could be received. It was said to 
be the plan of the French to cut them off in their 
march to the ships, but they met with little inter¬ 
ruption until they reached the beach, and saw the 
Commodore provided with all his squadron and 
transports ready to receive them. Presently, how¬ 
ever, the advanced parties of the French appeared 
on the high grounds, but did not attempt to molest 
the embarkation until they saw they might attack 
with success the reduced number of troops remain¬ 
ing on the beach, when they brought their field- 
pieces to bear, and a shocking carnage ensued, not 
only on shore, but in the flat-bottomed boats, though 
Commodore Howe exerted himself to the utmost to 
cover them by an incessant fire from his frigates, 
sloops, and bombs. The General in his dispatch 
says, the rear-guard, (the three companies of the first 
regiment included,) consisted of about 1400 men, of 
whom were missing about 700, and of those between 
400 and 500 were prisoners. A great number of 
officers were killed, among whom was General 
Drury, and many more were taken prisoners, and in 
these was included Lord Frederick Cavendish of the 
Guards. 

On this trying occasion the conduct of Howe was 
eminently conspicuous. The grenadiers had nothing 
left for it but to escape with all speed to the boats or 
remain to be killed; they were ordered, therefore, 
to make to the shore as quickly as possible. A bat- 

e 2 


52 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


tery, thrown up on the hill, shattered several of the 
boats to pieces. As some of these approached the 
shore, many of the seamen were killed or wounded, 
which so intimidated the rowers, that they hesitated 
to proceed, and lay upon their oars. Howe observ¬ 
ing this, and suspecting the cause of their back¬ 
wardness, jumped into his barge, rowed into the 
midst of the fire of shot and shells, and standing 
upright in the boat, waved the seamen to follow 
him ; his example animated their depressed spirits; 
no one now thought of shrinking, but all strived who 
could pick up the greatest number of poor fellows, 
some swimming, others wading into the sea. One of 
the historians of the war, the Reverend John Entick, 
compares the gallant behaviour of Howe, appropri¬ 
ately enough, to Achilles staying the flying Greeks. 

“ So when the Grecians to their navy fled. 

High o'er the trench, Achilles rear'd his head, 

Greece, for one glance of that tremendous eye. 

Strait took new courage, and disdain’d to fly ; 

Troy saw aghast the living lightning's play. 

And turn’d their eye-balls from the flashing ray.” 

It has been stated that the young Prince leaped 
into the boat with Howe, but the latter desired him 
to get back on board, as the service he was going on 
was one of great danger, and that the charge he had 
of his personal safety might distract his attention 
from the urgent business on hand. The Prince re¬ 
luctantly obeyed; he had been on shore at the com¬ 
mencement of the retreat. The same writer, who was 


H.] 


EXPEDITIONS TO FRENCH COAST. 


53 


personally acquainted with Commodore Howe, says, 
the Duke of Newcastle remonstrated with George 
II., on the dangers to which the Commodore had 
exposed his grandson, when the King rebuked him, 
by asking if he expected the boy to be properly 
brought up as a sailor, without incurring the dan¬ 
gers to which they are liable ? 

Of the 1400 men that composed the rear-guard 
thus exposed, the general has said that about 700 were 
missing, and about 400 prisoners ; leaving therefore 
about 300 killed or drowned. Of these one major- 
general, one lieutenant-colonel, four captains, five 
lieutenants, were killed; and three lieutenant-colo¬ 
nels, ten captains, nine lieutenants, were made pri¬ 
soners ; of the navy, Captains Rowley, Maplesden, 
Paston, and Elphinstone, with Captain Duff, super¬ 
intending the re-embarkation, were also taken pri¬ 
soners. 

“ Such,” says Walpole, “ was the conclusion of 
Mr. Pitt’s invasions of France, the idleness or fruit¬ 
lessness of which took off from the judgment of his 
other attempts and successes; though, while this 
country exists in independence, not even his own 
ambition, which prompted his attempts, can detract 
from the merit of his undertaking, retrieving, re¬ 
establishing, the affairs of Britain.” 

General Bligh was the only sufferer after the re¬ 
turn of the expedition. The cold reception he met 
with, and an intimation that he would not be re- 


54 LIFE OF EARL HOWE, [CH. 

ceived by his Majesty, determined this high-minded 
officer to take the only step he deemed consistent 
with his feelings, which was this—that he could not 
hold his commission with honour, and, therefore, at 
once resigned it. Yet the capture and destruction 
of Cherburg, with the multitude of guns, mortars, 
ammunition, and warlike stores, was of much higher 
value to the nation than all that had been done in 
the two former expeditions ; at least it would appear 
the minister thought so; for the great number of 
brass cannon, the brass mortars, some standards and 
other military implements, after being exhibited for 
some days in Hyde Park, for the amusement of the 
populace, who are always pleased to see something 
substantial for the money they pay in taxes, were 
then, with great pomp and ostentation, with flags and 
military music, drawn through the city and deposited 
at the Tower. 



m.] 


CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES. 


55 


CHAPTER III. 

VARIOUS SERVICES, CIVIL AND MILITARY. 

Commodore Howe marries—His brother, the Earl Howe, is killed— 
His remuneration for the Duke of Marlborough and others—The 
equipment and reception of the Duke of York—Joins Sir Edward 
Hawke—Action with the fleet of Conflans—The Admiral's account 
of the battle very defective—Walpole's edition of it—Magnanime 
attached to the Channel fleet—Howe the first colonel of marines— 
Establishment and abolition of that and the generals of marines— 
George II. gives the first uniform to the navy—Howe flag captain 
to the Duke of York in the Princess Amelia—Fire in the Princess 
Amelia—Becomes a member of the Board of Admiralty—Treasurer 
of the navy—Advantages of these situations in a naval point of 
view—Lord Sandwich, an able First Lord of the Admiralty—His 
opinion as to timber and seamen—Howe purchases a place called 
Porters—Description of—Imitation of the Queen Charlotte’s after¬ 
cabin—Round-sterns and stern-galleries. 

The year 1758 was an important era in the life of 
Commodore Howe, who had now attained the age 
of thirty-three, and had eminently established his 
character as a brave, active, and intelligent officer in 
the naval service. On the 10th of March of this 
year, having a few months’ leave during the refit ot 
his ship, he married Mary, daughter of Chivertoh 
Hartop, Esquire, of Welby in the county of Lei¬ 
cester ; and in the month of July of the same year 
Commodore Howe lost his elder brother, George 


56 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

Augustus Viscount Howe. This brave officer, when 
serving under General Abercrombie in America, 
was killed in a skirmish in passing through a thick 
and almost impenetrable wood, in which was a 
French party laying in ambush. The British suc¬ 
ceeded in killing 300 and taking 148 prisoners, 
with the loss only of two officers, and about eighteen 
men killed and wounded; but this success was pur¬ 
chased dearly by the death of Lord Howe, who fell 
the first man in the skirmish by a musket ball 
through his heart, of which he died instantly. Of 
the loss of this young and promising officer. General 
Abercrombie says, in his letter to the Secretary of 
State, “ that he was deservedly and universally be¬ 
loved and respected throughout the whole army; 
that his untimely fall occasioned much grief and 
consternation ; and that he himself felt it most 
heavily, and lamented him most sincerely.” On 
this melancholy news reaching the Dowager Lady 
Howe, she addressed the gentry, clergy, and free¬ 
holders of Nottingham (whom the deceased had re¬ 
presented in parliament) in favour of his next younger 
brother. Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards General Sir 
William) Howe, to supply his place in the House 
of Commons; “ permit me,” she says, “ to implore the 
protection of every one of you, as the mother of him 
whose life has been lost in the service of his country.” 
The appeal was responded to, and Colonel Howe 
was returned to the seat of his late brother. 


III.] CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES. 57 

The Commodore, being the next of age, succeeded 
of course to the title and estate of the family, as 
Viscount Howe of Langar. Though his mother 
was still living, Lord Howe’s pecuniary circum¬ 
stances, which had hitherto been none of the most 
flourishing, became materially improved. In fact, 
he had almost subsisted on his pay as captain, 
and could have ill afforded, without some com¬ 
pensation, to entertain at his table the Duke of 
Marlborough, and the rest of the general officers, 
and their respective staffs, on the late expeditions to 
the coast of France. The payment he received 
appears incidentally from a letter of Lord Howe, 
written many years afterwards to Sir Roger Curtis, 
on the latter having been ordered to receive the 
Duke d’Artois and his suite on board the Canada, 
with directions to accommodate him ‘ f in a manner 
suitable to his rankand as it mentions a curious 
circumstance connected with the late expeditions 
against France, an extract from it may not be in¬ 
applicable in this place. 

“ I postponed writing to you on the subject, con¬ 
cluding I should soon be informed by you of the 
particular manner in which the Prince was to be 
treated, and of the means in which the expense of 
such specially defined treatment was to be defrayed; 
my surprise was, therefore, great indeed to find by 
your letter received yesterday, that the appointment 
is made with no other specification of the sense of 


58 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


government expressed, than as a matter of course.” 
And after advising him to make a public or personal 
application to Lord Spencer, he adds :— 

“ When I commanded the maritime department 
on the expedition to the coast of France in 1758, the 
Duke of Marlborough, the Lieutenant-General Lord 
George Sackville, with their aides-de-camp, &c., to 
the number of fifteen or sixteen persons at my table, 
for breakfast, dinner, and supper daily, were ordered 
to be taken by me into the Essex. My pay being 
then nearly the whole of my income, application be¬ 
came necessary for some proportionate allowance to 
hear the expense of such disbursements; and one 
thousand pounds were deemed not inadequate to my 
situation. After the capture of Cherburg, this set 
of guests were ordered to Flanders; and a new staff, 
little less in number, together with the late Duke of 
York, replaced them. It is true I was not told how 
to provide for His Royal Highness; and all the answer 
I could obtain from ministerial authority respecting 
the treatment of, and conduct towards, the prince, was 
limited to an instruction that I was to act respecting 
him, just as if I had not any such person on board the 
ship. He came, not only without bed, and linen almost 
of every kind, but I paid also for his uniform clothes, 
which I provided for him, with all other necessaries, 
at Portsmouth. I made no inquiries how I was to 
be indemnified for every requisite attention to the 
then presumptive heir to the crown. When the 


III.] CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES. 59 

operations terminated, unsuccessfully as you know, by 
the defeat of our troops at St. Cas, and I resumed my 
private character as Captain in the fleet, the assigned 
allowance for the first embarkation was all it was 
thought fit to think of for me.” Lord Howe, in 
speaking of Monsieur in the same letter, says, “ I 
much pity the unfortunate man’s situation, as you 
represent his feelings and character. Though dissi¬ 
pated as he has always been described, I should not 
have thought a change of circumstances less in the 
extreme, w r ould make any impression so much to 
his advantage. He ought to make an exemplary 
sovereign, if he ever attains that elevation.” 

In the case of the Duke of York we have a pretty 
specimen of the economical mode then in practice, of 
launching forth into the world a young prince, the 
heir presumptive to the throne. Captain Howe hav¬ 
ing equipped his young eleve in the true Portsmouth 
fashion, the captains of the navy then present attended 
him in their boats on board, where they were seve¬ 
rally introduced to the young midshipman. An 
anecdote is told, which being highly characteristic of 
the true simplicity of seamen, is not unlikely to have 
occurred. A sailor standing with some others on 
the forecastle, and observing what was going on, 
whispered his messmate, <f the young gentleman a’nt 
over civil as I thinks: look, if he don’t keep his hat 
on before all the captains!” “ Why, you stupid 
lubber,” replied the other, “where should he larn 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


60 


[CH. 


manners, seeing as how he never was at sea be¬ 
fore?” 

Another illustrious prince, His Royal Highness 
William Henry, (our late gracious king,) was sent 
by George III. into the navy on hoard the Prince 
George, in which the flag of Admiral Digby was 
flying, on the 15th of June 1779. On the 19th of 
that month an order was given to the Navy Board to 
issue to the Admiral one thousand pounds, “ to reim¬ 
burse the expenses he may incur in entertaining His 
Royal Highness Prince William Henry;” on the 
13th of May 1780, the like sum; and on the 24th of 
August 1781, the same; after which, until the expi¬ 
ration of six years of honest service before he was 
made a lieutenant, no further sums appear to have 
been issued. In 1780, Sir George Rodney took four 
Spanish line of battle ships under Admiral Langara, 
whom he sent in his flag ship, the Phoenix, to Gibraltar, 
where the Prince George then was. His Royal High¬ 
ness after being introduced to the Spanish Admiral 
retired; and shortly afterwards, appearing in midship¬ 
man’s uniform, he touched his hat to the Admiral 
Langara with “ Sir, the boat is ready;” on which 
Langara observed, “ Well does Great Britain merit 
the empire of the sea, when the humblest stations in 
her navy are supported by princes of the blood.” 

The expeditions to the French coast having termi¬ 
nated with the third unsuccessful attempt. Lord Howe 
returned to his old and favourite ship, the Magnanime, 


III.] CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES. 61 

in the month of June, and joined the fleet under the 
command of Sir Edward Hawke, then employed off 
Brest and in channel soundings; at the same time his 
royal pupil was appointed Captain of the Phoenix. 
While the Magnanime was refitting, Lord Howe told 
his brave fellows that their conduct had been so good 
and sailor-like since he had the pleasure of com¬ 
manding them, that it was his intention, as soon as 
the ship was in harbour, to give each watch in turn 
a fortnight’s leave of absence, being quite sure they 
would not abuse the indulgence. At this time, and 
indeed during the whole war, it was too much the case 
for the majority of Captains to refuse all leave to 
their crews, in consequence of which, as might na¬ 
turally be expected, desertions were constantly occur¬ 
ring, and courts-martial and punishments frequent. 
The Magnanime did not lose a man. It was by this 
and other indulgences, which were soon known in 
the fleet, that Howe obtained the appellation of the 
“ Sailor’s friend.” 

From June to November Sir Edward Hawke con¬ 
tinued to cruize off Brest, sending his ships occa¬ 
sionally into port to refit and replenish. On the 9th 
of the latter month a violent gale of wind forced 
him from his station, and obliged him to take shelter 
in Torbay, which was so far fortunate for the enemy, 
as during his absence a French squadron from the 
West Indies, under Monsieur de Bompart, got safe 
into Brest. ' The French Admiral, M. de Conflans, 


62 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH 


who had been blockaded the whole summer, suppos¬ 
ing that the English fleet had returned to port for the 
winter, put to sea on the 14tli of November with 
twenty-one sail of the line, and on the same day Sir 
Edward Hawke sailed from Torbay with twenty-three 
sail of the line. The Gibraltar, on joining the Admi¬ 
ral, reported that she had seen the French fleet twenty- 
four leagues to the north-west of Belleisle, steering 
to the south-west. At half-past eight o’clock in the 
morning of the 20th of November, the Maidstone 
made the signal for seeing a fleet. “ I had before,” 
says Sir Edward, “ sent the Magnanime ahead to 
make the land. At three quarters past nine she 
made the signal for an enemy. All the day we had 
very fresh gales at north-west, with heavy squalls. 
M. Conflans kept going off under such sail as all 
his squadron could carry, and at the same time keep 
together. At half-past two, P.M., the fire beginning 
ahead, I made the signal for engaging. About four 
o’clock the Formidable struck, and a little after 
the Thesee and Superbe were sunk. About five 
L’Heros struck, but*, it blowing hard, no boat could 
be sent on board her.” The Admiral then says, 
“ that night coming on, and being on a part of the 
coast among islands and shoals, of which we were 
totally ignorant, without a pilot, as was the greatest 
part of the squadron, and blowing hard on a lee 
shore, I made the signal to anchor.” 

All night long guns of distress were fired, but 


III.] CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES. 63 

none knew whether by friends or enemies, and 
whether some of them were not intended as signals. 
At daybreak it was discovered that Conflans’ ship, the 
Soleil Royale, had anchored among the English fleet: 
she immediately cut, and with L’Heros run ashore to 
the westward of Crozie. A signal was made for the 
Essex to pursue, but she got ashore among the rocks, 
where the Resolution already was, and both were ir¬ 
recoverably lost ; the remains of both ships were set 
on fire. “ Thus,” says Sir Edward Hawke, “ what 
loss we have sustained has been owing to the weather, 
not the enemy, seven or eight of whose line-of-battle 
ships got to sea, I believe, in the night of the action.” 
On the 22nd the Admiral sent three of his ships to 
destroy the Soleil Royale and Heros; but the French 
set the first on fire, and our people did the same with 
the second. He gives all praise to the conduct of the 
Captains whose ships could get up with and engage 
the enemy, but, according to the fashion of the day, 
he particularises none; not even the part that each 
ship sustained in the action. The loss he says in the 
ships now with him amounts only to one lieutenant, 
39 seamen and marines killed, and about 202 wounded; 
of which it appears the Magnanime had 13 killed and 
66 wounded ; among the former was second-lieutenant 
Price. “ As to the loss we have sustained,” says the 
Admiral, “ let it be placed to the account of the ne¬ 
cessity I was under of running all risk to break this 
strong force of the enemy: had we had but two 


64 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


hours more daylight, the whole had been totally de¬ 
stroyed or taken, for we were almost up with their 
van when night overtook us.” 

Though the Admiral mentions no officer in par¬ 
ticular, yet it is well known that Lord Howe in the 
Magnanime was the leading ship, and the following 
extract from her log proves that it was he who at¬ 
tacked the Rear-Admiral’s ship, the Formidable :— 
“ Bore down to attack the Rear-Admiral, and fired 
upon him accordingly; but failing in our attempt to 
hoard him, by the slow wearing of the ship for want 
of head sails, and falling to leeward of him, and when 
brought up again to the wind, to take the advantage of 
engaging him in that situation, the Montague and 
Warspite driving together on board of us, and forcing 
us still farther to leeward of the French rear, stood 
away therefore, being disengaged from them, after 
another of the enemy’s ships.” This other was the 
Thesee, which the Magnanime attacked so furiously 
as to compel her to strike; and a sudden squall com¬ 
ing on, and her lower deck ports not being shut, 
she filled and instantly sunk; one account however 
states that the Magnanime ran down upon the Thesee 
and compelled her immediately to strike, but being 
near the shore she drove on the rocks and went to 
pieces; this is not correct. Nothing can be more 
vague and unsatisfactory than the mode in which 
Commanders-in- Chief in those days reported naval 
battles, seldom giving them with an approach even to 


III.] CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES. 65 

accuracy. Horace Walpole, who generally obtained 
whatever reports were current in the offices and about 
the court, gives the following account:—“ Lord Howe 
who attacked the Formidable, bore down on her with 
such violence, that her prow forced in his lower tier 
of guns. Captain Digby in the Dunkirk received 
the fire of twelve of the enemy’s ships, and lost not a 
man. Keppel’s was full of water, and he thought it 
sinking: a sudden squall emptied his ship, hut he 
was informed all his powder was wet. ‘ Then,’ said 
he, ‘ I am sorry I am safe.’ They came and told him 
a small quantity was undamaged—‘ Very well,’ said 
he, ‘ then attack again.’ Not above eight of our 
ships were engaged in obtaining this decisive victory.” 
This may rather he considered as the talk of the day 
than as correct history, but where are we to get any¬ 
thing better ? The wetting of the powder, however, 
in Keppel’s ship appears to be true. 

During the year 1760 Lord Howe, in the Magna- 
nime, was attached to the Channel fleet, and sailed 
with Sir Edward Hawke on the 1st of September to 
relieve Admiral Boscawen in Quiberon Bay; and on 
the 4th he was detached with the Bedford and Prince 
Frederick to dispossess the French of the island of 
Dumet, the governor of which surrendered after a 
faint resistance. The possession of this island was 
considered of great importance to the Channel fleet, 
having a good watering place, by means of which a 
saving was effected of the enormous expense and in- 

F 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


66 


[CH. 


convenience of employing transports to carry over 
water from England for the supply of the ships. 

The reputation of Commodore Howe was now so 
firmly established, and his services so universally 
acknowledged, that the nation and the government 
looked up to him when any naval operations of mo¬ 
ment were contemplated. On being introduced to 
George II. by Sir Edward Hawke, his Majesty is 
said to have expressed the high sense he entertained 
of his conduct in words to this effect: “ My Lord 
Howe, your life has been a continued series of ser¬ 
vices to your country/’ The Admiralty also, desirous 
of marking their estimation of his services, conferred 
on him, in March 1760, the appointment of Colonel 
of the Chatham division of Royal Marines. He was 
the first officer that had ever held a commission under 
this new establishment, which was only created by the 
King’s Order in Council in February of the same 
year; the three Generals of Marines having been esta¬ 
blished in the latter end of the preceding year. These 
appointments, which were almost the only boons given 
to naval officers for distinguished services, during the 
reign of George II., or indeed since, no longer exist, 
having been swept away a few years ago among the 
rest of sinecure offices, to which class they unques¬ 
tionably belonged. The original professed intention, 
however, was to make them efficient, and not sinecures. 
The Lords of the Admiralty state, in their memorial 
to the King, that the marines having been augmented 


III.] CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES. 67 

to one hundred and thirty companies, of one hundred 
and twenty-three private men each, amount in the 
whole to eighteen thousand and ninety-two men, 
with very few officers, they think it necessary, in 
order to preserve discipline and regularity among so 
great a body of men, that some officers of rank in the 
navy should be appointed to assist therein, who may 
frequently review them, both afloat and ashore, to 
see they are kept in constant order for service, and 
regularly provided with clothing, arms, and accoutre¬ 
ments ; likewise to inquire into the conduct and be¬ 
haviour of the officers, and make their reports to the 
Board. Had this avowed intention been carried into 
effect, some plea might have been urged before the 
Committee to prevent the annihilation of these few 
appointments. 

No one officer, however, ever thought of visiting 
any of the divisions of marines on so invidious a ser¬ 
vice, for such it must have been considered by the 
superior marine officers; nor, indeed, was any one 
ever directed to do so by the Admiralty. It may 
therefore be concluded, that the reasons stated in the 
memorial were for no other purpose than merely to 
give a colour to the establishment of a boon, intended 
for a certain limited number of distinguished naval 
officers; and in this light it was viewed by the Par¬ 
liamentary Committee, appointed to inquire into the 
nature of the several sinecure offices. No abuse how¬ 
ever appears to have been complained of in making the 

f 2 


68 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


selection, from Howe down to our own times. The 
Committee at the same time recommended that the 
amount of the pay, attached to the seven marine 
commissions, should be distributed by his Majesty to 
such deserving officers of the navy, as the Lords of 
the Admiralty should recommend. This may be a 
very useful measure, if properly distributed among 
deserving and distressed objects; but a mere pecu¬ 
niary grant is but a poor substitute for the distinction 
which the appointments conveyed, and the grace which 
they gave to the boon. Perhaps it is not quite correct 
to say, as it has been said, that George II. conferred 
no distinction on the navy—he gave them what they 
had not hitherto had, a fixed uniform dress. From 
the portraits in the Naval Gallery in Greenwich 
Hospital, Mr. Locker has furnished an amusing ac¬ 
count of the various modes in which our old gallant 
Admirals were clothed. Some of these ancient heroes, 
at one of their clubs, resolved “ that a uniform dress 
is useful and necessary for commissioned officers, 
agreeable to the practice of other nationsand a 
committee was appointed to wait on the Duke of 
Bedford, then First Lord of the Admiralty. Admiral 
Forbes was finally selected to this office: he was 
shown into a room surrounded with dresses. On 
being asked which he thought the most appropri¬ 
ate, he said, “ one with red and blue, or blue and red, 
as these were our national colours.” “ No,” replied 
his Grace, “the King has settled it otherwise; he saw 


III. ] CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES. 69 

my duchess riding in the park a few days ago, in a 
habit of blue faced with white, which took the fancy 
of his Majesty, and he has ordered it as the uniform 
of the Royal Navyand in 1748 it was established 
accordingly. We have kept the blue and the white 
till within a few years back, but now red has super¬ 
seded the white, and thus his late Majesty William 

IV. restored us to our “ national colours.’* 

His Royal Highness the Duke of York was raised 
to the rank of Rear-Admiral of the Blue, and hoisted 
his flag on board the Princess Amelia of 80 guns. 
He immediately requested that his former commander 
might be appointed his Flag-Captain, and Lord 
Howe gave up his favourite ship, the Magnanime, to 
join that of his Royal Highness, for which purpose 
he was relieved from his station in Basque Roads, 
where he had been acting as Commodore of a powerful 
squadron, to watch the motions of the French fleet at 
Rochfort. While in the Princess Amelia, a circum¬ 
stance occurred which, though trifling in itself, fur¬ 
nished an instance of that cool and unruffled conduct 
of Lord Howe, which was conspicuous on all occasions 
where danger existed or was apprehended. While 
asleep in his cabin, the lieutenant of the watch sud¬ 
denly going up to his bedside called out, in apparent 
agitation, “ My Lord, the ship is on fire close to the 
magazine ; but don’t be frightened, my Lord, it will 
soon be got under.” “ Frightened, Sir, what do you 
mean by that ? I never was frightened in my life 


70 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


and looking the lieutenant full in the face, he said to 
him, coolly,“ Pray, Sir, how does a man feel when he 
is frightened ? I need not ask how he looks. I will be 
with you immediately; but take care that his Royal 
Highness is not disturbed.” There is another story 
told of his coolness and presence of mind. When 
captain of the Magnanime, a gale of wind on a lee- 
shore, off the coast of France, induced him to anchor. 
In the course of the night it blew tremendously, but 
Howe having made all snug with two anchors ahead, 
went off deck to his cabin, where he took up a book; 
presently, however, the lieutenant of the watch came 
down in great haste, and with a face of woe said, 
“ I am sorry to inform you, my Lord, that the anchors 
are coming home.” “ They are much in the right,” 
replied Howe, coolly, “ I don’t know who would stay 
abroad such a night as this.” 

In the summer of this year a large fleet was fitted 
out, under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir Charles 
Hardy, to which the Princess Amelia was attached. 
Sir Charles proceeded to the westward on the 12th 
September, and on the 29th was joined by a rein¬ 
forcement under the Duke of York. No brilliant 
exploits in general actions occurred in the course of 
this year; though numerous distinguished services 
were performed by single ships, in different parts of 
the world. The war, in fact, seemed to languish ; the 
French had met with such ill success, both at home 
and in the colonies, and the English had so long 


III.] CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES. 71 

complained of the duration of hostilities, that the 
preliminaries of a general peace were signed at 
Fontainbleau in November, and ratified on the 
10th February 1763, and proclaimed in London on 
22nd of that month. The great fleets, of course, 
were paid off, and Commodore Lord Howe struck 
his broad pendant and came on shore. His young 
pupil, recently his commanding officer, found it ex¬ 
pedient, on account of declining health, to proceed 
to a warm climate; and took his passage in the Cen¬ 
turion, commanded by Commodore Harrison, for the 
Mediterranean. In September 1767, he died at 
Monaco: his corpse was brought to England and 
deposited in the royal vault in King Henry VII.’s 
Chapel, in Westminster Abbey. 

It is not likely that an officer of Lord Howe’s 
active mind, who had spent twenty-four years of his 
life almost uninterruptedly at sea, should be content 
to sit down quietly on shore divested of all command. 
Employment he could not want, as he had for some 
time past made the theory and practice of naviga¬ 
tion, naval tactics, a system of signals and the evolu¬ 
tions of a fleet, the great objects of his study. He 
had experienced the importance of some well-known 
system of signals, the want of which was so seriously 
felt in the action of Sir E. Hawke with Conflans. 
The night signal for anchoring was a certain number 
of guns, but the two fleets being intermixed, the sig¬ 
nal-guns and guns of distress were also so mingled. 


72 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

that many of our ships, not being able to distinguish 
the one from the other, kept under way, and in the 
morning the fleet was completely dispersed; fortu¬ 
nately the same thing happened to that of the enemy. 
It may be supposed, therefore, that an officer of 
Howe’s character and qualifications would at any 
time be acceptable as one of the Lords of the Ad¬ 
miralty ; and that, whether he sought or was sought 
for to fill that situation, the very circumstance of 
being a member of that Board must have been en¬ 
tirely congenial with his feelings, as he would then 
have an opportunity of advancing his favourite 
schemes, and of being made acquainted with what 
had been previously proposed by others, and with the 
results of the several experiments whether favourable 
or otherwise. Whatever concerns the navy—the 
improvements in the hulls, masts, yards and rigging 
of ships—all suggestions for the maintenance of the 
health and comfort of the sailors—all matters relating 
to discipline—systems of naval tactics, evolutions and 
signals—all information on these and other subjects 
connected with the navy—centre in the Board of Ad¬ 
miralty. No wonder, then, that Lord Howe cheer¬ 
fully accepted a seat at the Board, in 1763, under 
the able administration of Lord Sandwich, a man of 
first-rate abilities, and one of the most active and 
well informed that had ever filled the high office of 
First Lord of the Admiralty. He remained, how¬ 
ever, in this office but a very short time after Howe 


III.] CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES. 73 

joined it, when he was succeeded by Lord Egmont 
with whom Lord Howe continued until June 1765, 
ivhen the latter left it to fill the important office of 
Treasurer of the Navy, at that time most important, 
as all the moneys expended on naval services passed 
through the Treasurer’s hands; whereas now, the 
Treasurer, or rather Paymaster, has not the power nor. 
the means of commanding a single shilling. This office 
he retained until August 1770, when he was relieved 
from it by the appointment of Sir Gilbert Elliot. 

The situation of a junior Lord of the Admiralty, 
though most useful to a professional member, by 
enabling him to become acquainted with every kind 
of information connected with the naval service, 
is not one calculated to bring an officer’s talents, 
be they what they may, before the eye of the public, 
especially if he should not have a seat in Parlia¬ 
ment ; nor even then, unless he should take an ac¬ 
tive share, in the House, of the business of the de¬ 
partment, which w r as not the case with regard to 
Lord Howe; for although he held a seat for Dart¬ 
mouth, during the whole time he w^as in the two 
offices, it does not appear that he took any part in 
the debates. In the Admiralty he employed himself 
on a code of Naval Instructions, which at that time 
had received only some slight alteration from those 
of 1746, which were little better than those usually 
known as “ the fighting instructions of the Duke of 
York.” An officer of Howe’s high character in the 


74 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


|_CH. 

service, not merely for undaunted bravery, which many 
others possessed in common, but also for his nautical 
skill and knowledge, must have been invaluable to 
Lord Sandwich, and still more so to Lord Egmont; 
the latter of whom, in particular, could not be sup¬ 
posed to know much of naval matters, and must have 
stood in need of that able assistance which Lord 
Howe was fully competent to alford him. 

Lord Sandwich was not only an able man, but 
having himself been one of the members of the 
Board under the Duke of Bedford, had time and 
opportunity of becoming well acquainted with naval 
affairs. He succeeded the Duke as First Lord of 
the Admiralty on 16th February 1747, and conti¬ 
nued in that office until the 22nd June 1751. He 
served a second time as First Lord from April 1763, 
to September of the same year; and a third time 
from January 1771, to March 1782. By his several 
visitations of the dock-yards, and other naval esta¬ 
blishments, he was enabled to make many salutary 
regulations in all those departments. The observa¬ 
tions and the hints for improvements, laid down in 
the journals kept by himself of these visitations, are 
exceedingly judicious, and are among the very few 
documents left in the Admiralty by First Lords, on 
quitting office, where they are carefully bound up in 
volumes. This salutary practice since his time ap¬ 
pears unfortunately to have been discontinued; it 
would indeed be in vain now to look for any private 


III.] CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES. 75 

minutes or papers of First Lords, however intimately 
connected with the naval service, or advantageous, 
as occasionally they might be, to their successors. 

One extract from the visitation minutes of Lord 
Sandwich, in 1749, may be quoted as a specimen 
applicable to the present and indeed to all times. 
He says that “ considering the very severe services 
on which our fleets were employed during the last 
war, and the great number of them that were conse¬ 
quently worn out in actual service at sea, it seems to 
me rather to be wondered that we have so many good 
ships still in our ports, than that (as we were obliged 
to build in every port of the kingdom where a ship 
could be set up, and to build with green timber or 
not build at all) we should have met with some 
of them which have not lasted so long as we wished 
they should ; for I am persuaded many of them have 
lasted longer than we had reason to expect they 
would.” [How applicable is this to the necessity 
Avhich compelled the late Lord Melville to contract 
for building what a Lord of the Admiralty facetiously 
called the Forty Thieves /] 

His Lordship continues: “ Another great and capi¬ 
tal point to be attended to, with regard to the future 
equipment of our fleet, is the want of men; every 
law that has lately been made on this subject has put 
us under fresh difficulties; the first object of fashion , 
as has lately appeared, is to dispute the legality of 
pressing, which, though odious in many particulars, 


76 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


is, I am positive, the only method, in these times, by 
which there is any possibility of manning the fleet. 
In short, timber and seamen are all that are want¬ 
ing to make our fleet invincible; if there are any 
who are base enough to wish to distress their coun¬ 
try on these capital points, I hope government will 
always have strength sufficient to withstand their 
evil purposes; and that they will continue to be held 
in that detestation which is due to such inveterate 
enemies to the public weal.’* 

Before Lord Howe was called to the Admiralty, 
it would appear that his intention was to prosecute 
his studies quietly at a place he had purchased in 
Hertfordshire, not far from St. Albans, called Por¬ 
ters; between which, and his house in Grafton- 
street, adjoining one held by his mother and sister, 
he divided his time during the remaining part of his 
life when on shore. George Mason, joint-proprietor 
of Porters, who afterwards published what he calls 
“ The Life of Richard Earl Howe,” speaks of his 
acquaintance with the noble Lord, in consequence of 
his “ purchase of an assemblage of stately groves 
with their thickets, far descending lawns, and de¬ 
lightfully extensive views, constituting altogether 
the beauty of a Hertfordshire seat—then dignified 
by coming into the possession of so illustrious an 
owner, who, when free from official avocations, made 
it his principal residence for the remainder of his 
life.” Porter’s Lodge is an irregular-built house, 


III.] CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES. 77 

beautifully placed on an eminence, in a small but 
pleasant park, commanding fine and extensive pros¬ 
pects to the westward and northward, the ground on 
both sides declining from the house. Lord Howe 
made several alterations from time to time, and 
among others, in later years, built and fitted up a 
library, resembling in its shape and arrangements 
the cabin of the Queen Charlotte, his flag-ship in the 
battle of the 1st of June. Before this was done, he 
frequently regretted, when on shore, the walks he 
used to enjoy in the spacious gallery of his favourite 
three-decker. That accommodation, in his Majesty’s 
ships, has of late years been grievously abridged by 
the introduction of round sterns, under the survey- 
orship of Sir Robert Seppings, which, though giving 
unquestionable additional strength to the after-part 
of a ship, by carrying up the timbers on the same 
system as those at the fore-part, greatly diminishes 
the beauty of the old overhanging sterns. 

Lord Howe was esteemed a most correct and 
accurate man in all money transactions, whether 
in public or private life. His accounts, when trea¬ 
surer of the navy, were clearly stated, and the 
balance regularly brought up, which was not always 
the case, either before or since; he is said also to 
have established many salutary regulations regarding 
the payment of seamen’s wages and prize-money. 
In this office he continued, until in 1770 he received 
his promotion to the rank of rear-admiral. 


78 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


CHAPTER IV. 

AMERICAN COMMAND. 

Lord Howe nominated, but not appointed, to command the Mediter¬ 
ranean fleet—His speeches in Parliament, as member for Dartmouth 
—Obtains an increase of half-pay for captains in the navy— Ap¬ 
pointed commander-in-chief of the American station—Gets ac¬ 
quainted with Dr. Franklin while in England—Their correspondence 
—Action of Sir Peter Parker—The two brothers publish their decla¬ 
ration—Lord Howe writes to Washington, who returns his letter 
—Writes to Franklin, without any good effect— A committee of 
Congress wait on Lord Howe—No result from it—Accident by firing 
a salute, court-martial, and proceedings thereon—The Hon. Henry 
Blackwood’s case—Arrival of Count d’Estaing’s fleet—Howe seeks 
him in order to give battle—A violent gale of wind—Effects of it 
on the two fleets—Action of the Isis of 50 guns with the Caesar of 
74—Letter of Captain Raynor describing it—D'Estain g, with his 
crippled fleet, takes refuge in Boston—Howe resigns his command 
to Admiral Byron—His brother had previously resigned to Sir 
Henry Clinton—A tournament given on the occasion—Character 
of Lord Howe—Contracts a friendship, which ceases only with his 
death. 

On Lord Howe’s resignation of the Treasurership of 
the Navy, in October 1770, he was promoted, with 
six others, to the rank of rear admiral of the blue, 
and, on the 26th of November of the same year, 
appointed Commander-in-chief of a squadron to be 
employed in the Mediterranean, on the probabi¬ 
lity of a rupture with Spain; and the Barfleur was 
ordered to be fitted for his flag. Long discussions 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


79 


were at this time carrying on with that power, re¬ 
specting the occupation and sovereignty of a group 
of bleak, barren, desolate, and uninhabited islands, 
situated in the cold and stormy latitudes of the 
Southern Atlantic, called the Falkland Islands. 
The affair however was patched up by treaty, 
which allows Great Britain to retain possession, and 
Spain the sovereignty, of these islands; and the 
former having gained this point, abandoned them 
altogether as speedily as possible. Recently how¬ 
ever they have been claimed by a puny government, 
which calls itself the republic of Bjahnos Ayres, re¬ 
gardless of which, the British government has now 
resolved to establish and plant them as a colony. 
They contain many good harbours, are directly in 
the route round Cape Horn and, if we may judge 
from the circumstance of 30,000 head of cattle, found 
running wild upon one of them, the soil will prove 
not unfit for grazing, or even for cultivation. 

No Mediterranean fleet therefore was fitted out, 
nor did Lord Howe at this time hoist his flag. Sir 
Edward Hawke however incurred the censure of 
many, for nominating so young an admiral to the 
command of so important a squadron; and he had 
intimation of a motion intended to be made in the 
House, for an address to his Majesty to inform the 
House, who had advised his Majesty to nominate 
Lord Howe, one of the junior rear-admirals, to such a 
command. The motion does not appear to have been 


80 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


brought forward, but Sir Edward Hawke declared he 
was perfectly ready to meet it; that he held himself 
responsible as First Lord of the Admiralty for the 
appointments recommended to his Majesty, and 
equally ready to declare that he did advise the King 
to sanction the one in question. “ I have tried my 
Lord Howe,” said Sir Edward, “ on most important 
occasions; he never asked me how he was to execute 
any service entrusted to bis charge, but always went 
straight forward, and performed it.” 

Lord Howe at this time held a seat in Parlia¬ 
ment for the borough of Dartmouth, in which he 
continued until 1782, when he was raised to the 
peerage of Great Britain. In this situation he may 
be said to have maintained the character given of 
him by Walpole, of being “ as silent as a rock.” 
He seldom spoke in the House, and when he did, on 
some naval question, contented himself by stating a 
fact, or giving an opinion. On some occasions 
however he spoke with effect, and carried his 
point. A motion, for instance, had been made and 
carried, that Mr. Morris be ordered to the bar of 
the House, for having snatched out of the mes¬ 
senger’s hands the writ for the last election of a 
knight of the shire to serve in Parliament for the 
county of Monmouth, and for the delay in the execu¬ 
tion of the said writ. It seems that hitherto all 
delinquents received the judgment of the House 
upon their knees. Lord Howe said, he thought the 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


81 


House was so tied down by its customary way of 
punishment, on these occasions, that there seemed 
to be no medium of sentence between an absolute 
discharge and the reprimand on the knees ; the for¬ 
mer he thought too easy a measure, the latter one too 
disgraceful for a gentleman to suffer; and Avished that 
some Avay might be hit upon to preserve the dignity of 
the House, and at the same time to prevent the offence 
being committed in future, but Avas much afraid there 
Avas none. Mr. Townsend on this moved as an amend¬ 
ment, that he be reprimanded on his legs, Avhich AA r as 
carried ; and, by a standing order of the House, the 
ignominious practice of kneeling was discontinued. 

The other occasion Avas one Avhere the interests 
of his brother officers Avere deeply concerned. This 
was enough for HoAve’s interposition, and he ex¬ 
erted himself in their behalf so strenuously and Avith 
such good effect, that he succeeded in spite of the 
minister. In February 1773, Lord HoAve acquainted 
the House, that he had a petition to present from the 
captains and commanders of the navy, for an increase 
of their half-pay. The noble lord admitted that he had 
not the consent of the Crown, but Lord North said, 
though he would not take advantage of the informa¬ 
lity, he Avas, for the most cogent reasons, determined 
to oppose it through every stage. On the petition 
being read, there Avas for some time a general silence 
in the House, on account, as was supposed, of the 
modest and unpresuming terms in which it Avas 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


82 


[CH. 


couched, considering the rank, and the high and ac¬ 
knowledged deserts, of the petitioners. 

At length Lord Howe rose, and stated to the House, 
in the most moderate and guarded terms, the grounds 
on which the request of the petitioners was founded ; 
he entered into a history of the manner of paying 
and providing for the captains of the navy, from the 
time of their first having a determined existence as a 
military body, to the establishment by which their pay 
was then regulated; gave an account of the provi¬ 
sion made for this body of officers in the infant state 
of the navy; and the orders in council, by which it 
had from time to time been regulated, from the year 
1667 down to 1715, when they were put on the 
footing they had continued ever since : by all which 
it appeared that, till the latter period, they were 
always highly rewarded by posts of considerable 
profit, by particular gratifications, or by an amount 
of half-pay double of what they were then receiving. 
His Lordship, therefore, moved, “ that the petition 
be referred to the consideration of a committee; and 
that they do examine the matter thereof, and report 
the same to the House.” 

After a long and animated debate, in which the 
motion was supported by Captain Constantine Phipps, 
Sir George Saville, Sir Gilbert Elliot, Sir William 
Meredith, Mr. Townsend, and several others, and 
opposed by Lord North, Mr. Charles Fox, and Mr. 
Welbore Ellice, the House divided, when there ap- 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


83 


peared for Lord Howe’s motion 154; and against it 
45. A committee was accordingly named, and an 
able report drawn up, in which was given a detailed 
history of the half-pay from its first establishment, 
with the difficulties with which the gallant officers of 
the navy had to struggle on account of their scanty 
incomes, and it concluded with a recommendation that 
the prayer of the petitioners should be favourably 
considered. Lord Howe moved accordingly, and 
was seconded by Lord North, who observed he had 
opposed the petition chiefly on the idea that it would 
be a precedent for applications of a similar nature. 
The House then came to this resolution, “ That an 
humble address be presented to his Majesty, that he 
will be graciously pleased to take into his considera¬ 
tion the deficiency of the allowance to several of the 
junior captains and commanders in his Majesty’s 
navy, for their support when out of employment; 
and that he will direct such addition to be made 
thereto, proportioned to the present establishment for 
the senior captains, over and above the provision 
made for the (then) year 1773, as his Majesty in his 
great wisdom shall think fit.” 

In 1775 Lord Howe was promoted to the rank of 
rear-admiral of the white, and, on the general elec¬ 
tion which took place in that year, he was chosen to 
represent the borough of Dartmouth for the third 
time, having sat for the same place in the parlia¬ 
ments of 1762 and 1768; and for which he was 

g 2 


84 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

again re-elected a fourth time in 1780, and continued 
the representation of that borough as before stated, 
till he was raised to the peerage. It would appear 
that in this last election an attempt was made to 
throw him out; for in speaking, in one of his letters, 
of officers being encouraged by the Admiralty to 
interfere in a certain county election, as the road to 
advancement in their profession, he alludes to his 
own last election, and observes, “ the virtue of the 
Dartmouth electors will or ought to be universally 
acknowledged, in that the attempts of power to divert 
their favourable purpose have proved ineffectual.” 

On the 7tli of December 1775, Lord Howe was 
raised to the rank of vice-admiral of the blue, on a 
general flag promotion, which included six others. 
On the 15th of February 1776, he was appointed 
commander-in-chief of the North American station, 
and received a joint commission with his brother. 
General Sir William Howe, already there, to treat 
with the revolted Americans, and to take measures 
for the restoration of peace with the colonies. But 
however well disposed Lord Howe might be, and his 
conduct showed how desirous he was, to effect this 
purpose by conciliation and mutual concession, he 
must have left England without much hope of suc¬ 
cess; for, before he sailed, it was discovered that 
the French had dispatched emissaries to General 
Washington, the purport of which could not be mis¬ 
taken. The ministers, indeed, no longer talked in 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


85 


parliament of conciliation ; that was all but imprac¬ 
ticable, and they seemed to insinuate that concession 
would only add to their difficulties ; in short, that no 
alternative now seemed to be left between absolute 
conquest and unconditional submission. Lord Howe’s 
interviews with Dr. Franklin, when in England, 
were by no means encouraging. As, however, this 
intercourse took place at the end of 1774, it would 
almost seem as if Lord Howe had then been desig¬ 
nated for the American command, and that a little 
plot was hatched by the ministry to entrap the Doctor 
to assist in persuading his revolted countrymen to 
return to their allegiance; but Franklin was too 
wary to be taken in. As this transaction is curious, 
and the chief actors were afterwards brought to¬ 
gether in another hemisphere, it may be briefly 
stated here. 

“ In the beginning of November, 1774,” says 
Franklin, “ being at the Royal Society, Mr. Raper, 
one of the members, told me there was a certain lady 
who had a desire of playing with me at chess, fancy¬ 
ing she could beat me, and had requested him to 
bring me to her: it was, he said, a lady with whose 
acquaintance he was sure I should be pleased, a sister 
of Lord Howe, and he hoped I would not refuse the 
challenge.” Franklin promised to go if Mr. Raper 
would accompany him. “ I went with him, played 
a few games with the lady, whom I found of very 
sensible conversation and pleasing behaviour, which 


86 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

induced me to agree most readily to an appointment 
for another meeting a few days afterwards; though 
I had not the least apprehension that any political 
business could have any connexion with this new 
acquaintance.” 

He then says, that “ on Christmas day visiting 
Mrs. Howe, she told me as soon as I went in, that 
her brother, Lord Howe, wished to be acquainted 
with me; that he was a very good man, and she was 
sure we should like each other. I said I had always 
heard a good character of Lord Howe, and should 
be proud of the honour of being known to him. He 
is just by, said she; will you give me leave to send 
for him ? By all means. Madam, if you think proper. 
She rang for a servant, wrote a note, and Lord Howe 
came in a few minutes.” 

Franklin speaks in high terms of the courteous 
manner in which his Lordship received him; he said 
that, beside the general motives for his desiring an 
acquaintance with him, he had a particular one at 
this time, which was the alarming situation of our 
affairs with America, which no one, he was per¬ 
suaded, understood better than Dr. Franklin : said 
he was sensible he had been very ill treated by the 
ministry; that he had much disapproved of their con¬ 
duct towards him; that some of them, he was sure, 
were ashamed of it, and sorry it had happened ; that 
he was unconnected with the ministry, except by 
some personal friendships; that he was merely an 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


87 


independent member of parliament, desirous of doing 
what good he could, agreeably with his duty in that 
station: and after many more general observations 
as to the possibility of bringing about a reconciliation 
through the medium of a communication by him 
(Lord Howe), with the ministry, he concluded, says 
Franklin, by observing that “ being himself upon 
no ill terms with them, he thought it not impos¬ 
sible that he might, by conveying my sentiments 
to them, and theirs to me, be the means of bringing 
on a good understanding, without committing either 
them or me, if his negotiations should not succeed; 
and that I might rely on his keeping perfectly secret 
everything I should wish to remain so.” 

Franklin was much taken with the manner and 
conversation of Lord Howe, and quite charmed with 
Mrs. Howe. “ I had never,” he says, “ conceived a 
higher opinion of the discretion and excellent under¬ 
standing of any woman on so short an acquaintance.” 
He told Lord Howe his manner was such as had 
already engaged his confidence; that he requested 
his Lordship would give him credit for a sincere de¬ 
sire of healing the breach between the two countries, 
and that he would do everything in his small power 
to accomplish it; but that he apprehended, from the 
King’s speech, and from the measures talked ol, as 
well as those already determined on, no intention or 
disposition of the kind existed in the present minis- 
try, and, therefore, no accommodation could be ex- 


88 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

pected till we saw a change. He said that the per¬ 
sonal injuries his Lordship had spoken of, in compa¬ 
rison of those done to his country, were not worth 
mentioning; that besides, it was a fixed rule with 
him not to mix his private aflairs with those of the 
public. This interview ended by Lord Howe ob¬ 
taining a promise from Franklin that he would draw 
up, in writing, some propositions on which he thought 
a good understanding might he obtained and esta¬ 
blished, which they agreed to discuss at a meeting at 
the same place a few days afterwards. 

Franklin sent in his propositions through Mrs. 
Howe; they were of such a nature that it was not 
likely government would pay the least attention to 
them ; as for instance, repealing all the laws, or parts 
of laws, requested to be repealed in the petition of 
the Congress to the King; that orders should be 
given to withdraw the fleet from Boston, and remove 
all the troops to Quebec or the Floridas, that the 
colonies might be left at liberty in their future specu¬ 
lations, &c. Lord Howe told Franklin he would 
transmit them to ministers, but expressed his appre¬ 
hensions that such propositions were not likely to 
produce any good effect; he, however,brought about 
a meeting between Lord Hyde and Franklin which 
was equally unsatisfactory. Lord Howe, therefore, 
saw him for the last time a little before his departure 
for America, apologized for the trouble he had occa¬ 
sioned him, but hoped, if he should chance to be sent 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


89 


to America, on the important business of attempting 
an arrangement, he might still expect his assistance. 
Franklin assured him of his readiness at all times of 
co-operating with him in so good a work, “ and so,” 
says he, " taking my leave and receiving his good 
wishes, ended the negotiation Avith Lord Howe.” 

Lord Howe having hoisted his flag in the Eagle 
of 64 guns, sailed from Spithead with a squadron of 
ships of Avar, and a fleet of transports, for North 
America in the early part of 1776, and was folioAved 
in May by Commodore Hotham, with another squad¬ 
ron and more transports for the same destination. 
Howe proceeded in the first instance to Halifax, in 
the hope of meeting his brother there, but Sir 
William having left that place, he departed for 
Staten Island, near New York, Avhere he arrived on 
the 4th of July. Here he was shortly after joined 
by the squadron under Commodore Sir Peter Parker, 
in Avhich Avas General Clinton Avho arrived with 
forces from South Carolina. Sir Peter’s squadron 
consisted of the Bristol of 50 guns, bearing his broad 
pendant; the Experiment 50 ; the Active, Solebay, 
Acteeon, and Syren frigates of 28 guns each, four 
small vessels, and the Thunder bomb. The commo¬ 
dore on the 28th of June had made a gallant attack 
on Sullivan’s Island, strongly fortified Avith a poAA r er- 
ful Avork which it Avas necessary to get possession of. 
This determined and brilliant affair is thus graphi¬ 
cally and truly described by Burke. 


90 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


“ Whilst the continued thunder from the ships 
seemed sufficient to shake the firmness of the bravest 
enemy, and daunt the courage of the most veteran 
soldier, the return made by the fort could not fail of 
calling for the respect, as well as of highly incom¬ 
moding the brave seamen of Britain. In the midst 
of that dreadful roar of artillery, they stuck with the 
greatest constancy and firmness to their guns ; fired 
deliberately and slowly, and took a cool and effective 
aim. The ships suffered accordingly; they were 
torn almost to pieces, and the slaughter was dreadful. 
Never did British valour shine more conspicuous, 
nor never did our marine, in an engagement of the 
same nature with any foreign enemy, experience as 
rude an encounter. The springs of the Bristol’s 
cable being cut by the shot, she lay for some time 
exposed in such a manner to the enemy’s fire, as to 
be most dreadfully raked. The brave Captain Mor¬ 
ris, after receiving a number of wounds, which would 
have sufficiently justified a gallant man in retiring 
from his station, still with a noble obstinacy dis¬ 
dained to quit his duty, until his arm being at length 
shot off, he was carried away in a condition which 
did not afford a possibility of recovery. It is said 
that the quarter-deck of the Bristol was at one time 
cleared of every person but the commodore, who stood 
alone, a spectacle of intrepidity and firmness, which 
have seldom been equalled, never exceeded. The 
others on that deck were either killed, or carried 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


91 


down to have their wounds dressed. Nor did Cap¬ 
tain Scott of the Experiment miss his share of the 
danger or glory, who, besides the loss of an arm, re¬ 
ceived so many other wounds, that his life was at 
first despaired of.” 

The Bristol had 111 and the Experiment 79 men 
killed and wounded, and the ships were so much 
damaged that the enemy was sanguine they would 
never succeed in getting over the bar. The Actseon 
grounded in the mud, and the tide falling, was set fire 
to by our own people. Night coming on, and the tide 
fast ebbing out. Sir Peter Parker thought it pru¬ 
dent to withdraw his shattered vessels from the scene 
ofaotion, in which, by some unfortunate accident, he 
had received no support from the army, as had been 
arranged. 

Such was the sort of reinforcement sent to Lord 
Howe at Staten Island, very inferior to that he had 
been led to expect. Before, however, he put his 
forces in motion to intimidate, rather than at once 
commit any direct act of hostility against, the rebel¬ 
lious colonists, his first act was to send ashore, by a 
flag, circulars to as many of the late governors of 
provinces as were in the neighbourhood, acquainting 
them with his powers, both civil and military, and 
enclosing a declaration, granting general or particular 
pardons to all such as, in the confusion of the times, 
might have deviated from their just allegiance; and 
who were willing, by a speedy return to their duty, 


92 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

to reap the benefits of the royal favour. These papers 
were immediately forwarded by General Washington 
to the Congress, and the Congress as speedily pub¬ 
lished them in all their gazettes, for the purpose, as 
was stated, “that the good people of these United States 
might know of what nature were the concessions, and 
what the terms , with the expectation of which the 
insidious Court of Great Britain has endeavoured to 
amuse and disarm them.” In fact, the declaration of 
himself, and his brother Sir William, came too late ; 
not that a few months, sooner or later, would have 
made much difference, for the Congress had, on the 
4th July, issued a declaration, “ that the United 
Colonies of America are, and of right ought to be, 
Free and Independent States , and that they are 
absolved from all allegiance to the British crown.” 

Lord Howe, however, unwilling to resort to ex¬ 
tremities, so long as the least hope remained of con¬ 
ciliating the colonists, next attempted to open a com¬ 
munication with General Washington, and sent 
some of his officers with a flag and a letter addressed 
to “ George Washington, Esq.,” which he refused to 
receive, as not being addressed with the title, and 
in the form, due to the public rank and capacity 
which he held under the United States. On the 20th 
of the same month, Adjutant-General Paterson was 
sent to New York by General Sir William Howe, 
with a letter also addressed to “ George Washington, 
Esq., &c. &c.” Washington received him with 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


93 


great courtesy, and dispensed with the usual ceremony 
of blindfolding in passing through the fortifications, 
but he declined to receive the letter. The adjutant, 
on liis part, trusted there might be no difficulty 
owing to any informality in the address, assuring him 
there was no intention of derogating from his rank. 
The General replied, “ that a letter directed to any 
person in a public character should have some de¬ 
scription or designation of it, otherwise it would ap¬ 
pear to be a mere private letter; that it was true the 
et ceteras implied everything; but they also implied 
anything; and that lie should absolutely decline any 
letter directed to him, as a private person, when it 
related to his public station.” Some conference took 
place about the treatment of prisoners, but nothing 
satisfactory could be obtained from General Wash¬ 
ington. 

Nothing now remained for the two brothers but to 
act decisively in their military capacities; and the first 
blow to be struck was to drive out the Americans 
from Long Island and take possession of it. General 
Sullivan was then sent upon parole, with a message 
from Lord Howe to the Congress, to state, that al¬ 
though he could not treat with that assembly as 
such, he was desirous of conferring with some of its 
members as private gentlemen only; that he was the 
more desirous of having some compact settled at this 
time, before any decisive blow should be struck, 
that neither party might say they were compelled to 


94 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH- 

enter into the agreement. The Congress said they 
could not send any of their members to confer with the 
Noble Lord in their private characters; but that, ever 
desirous of establishing peace on reasonable terms, 
they Avould send a committee of their body to ascer¬ 
tain if Lord Howe had any and what authority to 
treat with persons authorized by Congress. Dr. 
Franklin, Mr. Adams, and Mr. Rutledge waited ac¬ 
cordingly on Lord Howe in Staten Island; but as 
these gentlemen found that the two Commissioners 
had no other authority than that conveyed by Act of 
Parliament, namely, that of granting pardons on sub¬ 
mission, the conference soon ended, and the committee 
returned to make their report to Congress. No 
benefit, indeed, could be expected to the mother coun¬ 
try from a committee composed of men whose prin¬ 
ciples were violent in the extreme, and who were 
known to entertain a bitter hatred to the mother 
country. His lordship even condescended to inform 
them, that he was ready to discuss the means of re¬ 
conciling the differences between Great Britain and 
America, with any gentleman of influence and im¬ 
portance, but they declined to act in any other cha¬ 
racter than that with which Congress had invested 
them; and it ended by Lord Howe assuring them 
that, to put an end to their grievances, any Act of 
Parliament that was obnoxious to the colonists should 
undergo a revisal, and every just cause of complaint 
be removed, if the colonists would only declare their 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


95 


IV.] 

willingness to submit to the authority of the British 
government. This they declared to be impossible ; 
and Lord Howe, finding that all chance of an accom¬ 
modation was at an end, broke up the conference. 
From this time to the close of the year our united 
forces had succeeded in every object; Rhode Island, 
New York, and both the Jerseys were in possession 
of the King’s troops. And thus having brought 
matters as briefly as possible to this stage of the un¬ 
happy contest, it is not intended to enter into any 
detail of the succeeding military operations, the object 
of this Memoir being solely that of illustrating the 
life and character of that great and good man, Ad¬ 
miral Lord Howe. 

Mindful of the friendly intercourse which had sub¬ 
sisted between his lordship and Dr. Franklin in 
London, he had previously addressed a letter, of which 
the following is a copy, to the latter, dated Eagle, 
20th June 1776, but not despatched till the 12th 
July, the vessel being detained by calms and contrary 
winds. 

“ I cannot, my worthy friend, permit the letters 
and parcels which I have sent you, in the state I re¬ 
ceived them, to be landed, without adding a word 
upon the subject of the injurious extremities in which 
our unhappy disputes have engaged us. 

“ You will learn the nature of my mission from 
the official despatches, which I have recommended to 
be forwarded by the same conveyance* Retaining all 


96 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

the earnestness I ever expressed, to see our differ¬ 
ences accommodated, I shall conceive, if I meet with 
the disposition in the colonies which I was once 
taught to expect, the most flattering hopes of proving 
serviceable in the objects of the King’s paternal soli¬ 
citude, by promoting the establishment of lasting 
peace and union with the colonies. But if the deep- 
rooted prejudices of America, and the necessity of 
preventing her trade from passing into foreign chan¬ 
nels, must keep us still a divided people, I shall, from 
every private as well as public motive, most heartily 
lament that it is not the moment wherein those great 
objects of my ambition are to be attained; and that I 
am to be longer deprived of an opportunity to assure 
you personally of the regard with which I am your 
sincere and faithful,” &c. &c. 

This letter gave to Benjamin Franklin the oppor¬ 
tunity of dilating on the alleged wrongs, the wanton 
barbarities and cruelties inflicted by the mother coun¬ 
try on the colonies; predicting that her pride and 
deficient wisdom, her fondness for conquest as a war¬ 
like nation; her lust of dominion, as an ambitious 
one ; and her thirst for a gainful monopoly, as a com¬ 
mercial one,—must prove as pernicious to her in the 
end, as the Croisades formerly were to most of the 
nations in Europe. After a long tirade of this kind, 
he proceeds in a milder strain. “ Long did I en¬ 
deavour, with unfeigned and unwearied zeal, to pre¬ 
serve from breaking that fine and noble China vase, 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


97 


the British empire; for I know that, being once 
broken, the separate parts could not retain even their 
shares of the strength and value that existed in the 
whole; and that a perfect re-union of those parts 
could scarce ever be hoped for. Your lordship may 
possibly remember the tears of joy that wet my cheek 
when, at your good sister’s in London, you once gave 
me expectations that a reconciliation might soon take 
place. I had the misfortune to find these expecta¬ 
tions disappointed, and to be treated as the cause of 
the mischief I was labouring to prevent. My con¬ 
solation under that groundless and malevolent treat¬ 
ment was, that I retained the friendship of many 
wise and good men in that country, and among the 
rest, some share in the regard of Lord Howe. I 
know your great motive in coming hither was the 
hope of being instrumental in a reconciliation ; and 
believe that, when you find that to be impossible, on 
any terms given you to propose, you will relinquish 
so odious a command, and return to a more honour¬ 
able private station.” From this reply, and the tone 
taken at the conference above mentioned, Lord Howe 
had nothing left but to make use ol the means at his 
disposal, and to endeavour, in conjunction with the 
army, to bring the refractory colonists to a sense of 
their duty. He had carried forbearance to its ut¬ 
most limit. 

In the early part of 1777 an unfortunate accident 
happened at Rhode Island, in the squadron of Sir 

H 


98 LTFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

Peter Parker, which gave Lord Howe a consider¬ 
able degree of concern, as it compelled him to take 
a step which, indispensably necessary as it was, 
created a disagreeable feeling among the officers of 
the detached squadron where it occurred, arising 
entirely out of the erroneous notions they entertained 
on the subject. In firing a salute on the Queen’s 
birth-day from the Diamond frigate, five men were 
unfortunately killed, and two wounded, on board the 
Grand Duke of Russia transport, lying very near 
the Diamond. In consequence of this a court-mar¬ 
tial was held on the first-lieutenant, J. T. Duck¬ 
worth, the gunner, gunner’s mates, and gunner’s 
crew, for neglect of duty ; but as it appeared on the 
trial that one shot had been drawn from the guns 
that were fired, and that none of the party accused 
knew they had been double-shotted, the court 'acquit¬ 
ted them of any neglect of duty. This sentence not 
appearing satisfactory to Lord Howe, then at New 
York, he sent an order to Sir Peter Parker to. re¬ 
assemble the court and to try the above-mentioned 
persons “ as principals or accessories in the death 
of the five seamen late belonging to the Grand Duke 
of Russia transport.” The reasons assigned by his 
lordship for this fresh trial were, that Fielding, the 
captain of the ship, who applied first for the court- 
martial, ought not to have sat; that the names of 
none of the accused were mentioned in the charge; 
and that mere neglect of duty did not specify the 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


99 


charge fully, nor describe the offence correctly. The 
seven captains who had formed the first court, on 
being re-assembled, and the order read, expressed 
their surprise at this proceeding, and wrote to Sir 
Peter Parker to say, that as the parties accused had 
once been acquitted, it was their opinion that they 
could not in justice proceed to try them a second time. 

On Lord Howe receiving this report he sent a 
second order, drawn up by himself, to Sir P. Parker, 
accompanied by a letter to that officer, in which he 
observes that the motives, which may have influenced 
the captains to refuse compliance with his first order, 
are very unsatisfactory; and he therefore authorises 
and enjoins him, in case of further refusal being per¬ 
sisted in, to cause every captain, so refusing to per¬ 
form his required duty in that respect, to be forthwith 
suspended from his command, and the charge of the 
ship to be vested in the senior lieutenant'for the time 
being, until he, Sir Peter Parker, should receive his 
further instructions. On this order the court again 
met, but declined entering upon the examination of 
further evidence as unnecessary; and having brought 
before them the sentence of the previous court, and 
admitted the validity of the plea set up by the ac¬ 
cused parties of having already been tried for the 
offence charged against them ; the court decided 
that, “ having been acquitted of any neglect of their 
duty, they are in consequence thereof acquitted of 
murder, or any other crime or crimes that have been 

h 2 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


100 


[CH. 


alleged against them, relative to the firing of the guns 
on board his Majesty’s ship the Diamond.” 

This second sentence proves at least that the seven 
captains were as equally deficient in logic as in law. 
Because a person is acquitted of the charge of neglect 
of duty, he is thereby acquitted of murder, or any 
other crime alleged against him, is a species of plea 
that would be laughed at in the Old Bailey. Lord 
Howe was better informed: he knew that the court 
was illegally composed—that the charges, as ex¬ 
hibited, were such as ought not to have been enter¬ 
tained—that the omission of all the names of the 
accused vitiated the proceedings—that the acquittal 
for neglect of duty was no acquittal for the lives 
that had been sacrificed—and that, under such a 
sentence, the nameless persons accused were still 
liable to be brought before another tribunal, and tried 
for murder or manslaughter. 

A case which occurred to Captain Sir Henry 
Blackwood, when in command of the Warspite, in 
the year 1812, is one in point. A letter with several 
depositions enclosed was received by the Admiralty 
from a gentleman of the name of Dobson, stating 
that his late friend Captain Edward Brine, master 
of the Alert schooner, had been killed by a musket-ball 
from his Majesty’s ship the Warspite, and that, from 
circumstances stated, it would appear to have been an 
act of wantonness and cruelty, that might give to 
the fatal result a denomination, which would require 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


101 


the most serious inquiry in a court of justice. There 
was no mistaking the meaning of this. The Lords 
of the Admiralty, therefore, in order to prevent Sir 
Henry being indicted and tried at the Old Bailey, 
directed their marshal to apprehend him, the moment 
the ship should arrive from the Mediterranean ; and 
an order was sent down “ to inquire into the cir¬ 
cumstances relating to the death of Edward Brine, 
master of the Alert schooner, who was killed by a 
musket-ball fired from his Majesty’s ship Warspite, 
and to try the Honourable Henry Blackwood, cap¬ 
tain of the said ship, for his conduct on that occa¬ 
sion, and for the alleged murder of the said Edward 
Brine .” The court having heard the evidence pro¬ 
duced in support of the charge, and what the prisoner 
had to offer in his defence, was of opinion “ that the 
conduct and appearance of the Alert schooner, in 
standing into the Warspite’s convoy, and not short¬ 
ening sail, was such as strongly to justify the sus¬ 
picion of her being an enemy, and that the measures 
taken by the Honourable Captain Blackwood were 
indispensable, in order to protect his convoy; and 
that no blame is imputable to Captain the Honour¬ 
able Henry Blackwood, as the cause of the alleged 
murder of Edward Brine; the court, therefore, fully 
acquit the Honourable Edward Blackwood.” This 
gallant officer, naturally enough, was horrified, and 
excessively indignant, at the idea of being tried on a 
charge of murder; but was easily made sensible that 


102 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

it was done solely for his protection. The captains 
at Rhode Island were as little disposed to think 
themselves well treated by Lord Howe, in compelling 
them to sit a third time for the trial of persons 
already acquitted, and still less at the threat which 
accompanied the last order. His lordship, however, 
took an early opportunity, on his arrival from New 
York, of fully explaining his views of the case. 

However well disposed Lord Howe might be to 
procrastinate, in order to give time for consideration 
to the Americans, slender as the hope was for any 
terms of conciliation after signing the Act of Inde¬ 
pendence; after his correspondence with Franklin, 
and his conference with this gentleman and others, 
both he and his brother had made up their minds to 
take the earliest opportunity of resigning their re¬ 
spective commands : more especially, as they con¬ 
sidered their pacific character superseded by the 
arrival of a fresh batch of commissioners, with the 
Earl of Carlisle at their head, in which commission 
the names of the admiral and the general were in¬ 
cluded. They resolved, however, not to act under 
Lord Carlisle, who, with his new commissioners, did 
nothing but issue an exasperating manifesto, the 
only effect of which was to procure a challenge from 
the Marquis de la Fayette for Lord Carlisle, who of 
course did not gratify him with a meeting. 

Lady Howe indeed had written to Lord North 
on the 1 Sth of February 1778, as follows:—“ As 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


103 


I understand a commission is intended to be sent 
out to treat with the Americans, which must super¬ 
sede that commission which Lord Howe and General 
Howe have been honoured with; and as I am con¬ 
vinced his Majesty cannot wish Lord Howe to re¬ 
ceive any mortification ; I beg leave to submit it to 
your Lordship’s consideration, whether it may not 
be proper to ask his Majesty’s leave for him to quit 
his naval command, in case he should wish to do 
so.” 

This letter was transmitted by Lord Sandwich to 
the admiral, giving him, very reluctantly, leave to 
come home; adding, “ I am very certain that his 
Majesty wishes you should not think it necessary to 
leave the command ; and for myself, I can with the 
utmost truth assure you, that I shall consider it as a 
very great additional misfortune, if we are to lose the 
advantage of your able assistance in the present cri¬ 
tical state of our affairs (both civil and military) on 
your side of the Atlantic.” 

The unexpected arrival of a fresh enemy in the 
early part of July retarded, but did not alter, his 
determination to return home. The French, with 
their accustomed bad faith, their rooted hatred of 
England, and their readiness, on every occasion, to 
take a treacherous and undue advantage, by uniting 
their forces to those of any power with which she 
was engaged in hostilities, had become the confede¬ 
rates of the revolted colonies. They knew, as all the 


104 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

world did, the small naval force we had in America; 
but it would appear that the ministers knew nothing 
of the fleet which was despatched under the orders of 
Count d’Estaing. Lord Sandwich had said to Lord 
Howe, in March, “ I do not think at present there is 
any probability that France will declare openly for 
the rebels.’* He was left, therefore, with a force 
utterly unequal to compete with that of D’Estaing, 
who, in the first instance, sailed into the Delaware, 
in the hope of surprising the British squadron in 
that river; but he found that Philadelphia was in 
our possession, and that the fleet had proceeded to 
the northward. On the 11th of July he appeared 
before Sandy Hook, a low point, which, jutting from 
the main land, forms behind it a good harbour for 
shipping of the largest class; and here the squadron 
of Lord Howe was lying, to keep open the com¬ 
munication with, and forward supplies to, the army 
in New York, then in our possession. 

The fleet of D’Estaing consisted of twelve sail of 
the line and three or four frigates; among them 
were several of the largest class of ships then in 
use; one of 90 guns, one of 80, and six of 74 guns 
each; the other four not stated, but suppose them 
of 60 guns each; manned with at least 10,000 men. 
The British fleet, under Lord Howe, consisted of 
six 64 gun ships, three of 50, and two of 40 guns, 
with a few small frigates and sloops. His ships too 
were mostly old, of a very bad construction, many of 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


105 


them crippled, all of them out of repair, and the 
crews had become sickly, besides being short in their 
complements. These were fearful odds—854 guns 
to 614; and the weight of metal, and the size of the 
ships w T ere greater in proportion than the numbers 
of the guns. The deficiency in point of men was 
however amply made good. Never, indeed, did the 
spirit of British seamen shine forth with greater 
lustre than on this occasion. A thousand volun¬ 
teers were immediately despatched from the trans¬ 
ports to serve in the fleet; others were daily join¬ 
ing it; masters and mates of merchantmen offered 
their services. Every disposition was made by 
Lord Howe for the defence of the fleet, and the 
multitude of shipping, in the event of the enemy 
venturing to pass the bar. For eleven days the 
French fleet remained at anchor outside the Hook ; 
the British seamen became impatient to have a 
brush with them, unequal as the two forces w r ere. 
But the commander-in-chief had too heavy a re¬ 
sponsibility to risk a combat with an enemy so very 
superior. A defeat would not only have been fatal 
to the whole naval force, the transports and mer¬ 
cantile shipping, but the salvation of the army de¬ 
pended on the safety and efficiency of the fleet. 

On the 22nd of July D’Estaing’s fleet weighed 
anchor, just at the time of high water, when any 
ship of the largest size might pass the bar withou 
difficulty, and all hands in Howe’s fleet were in joy- 


106 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

ful expectation they intended to do so. D’Estaing, 
however, did not think it expedient to engage the 
British fleet, but shaped his course to the northward. 
The departure of this squadron, at the moment it 
took place, was most fortunate, as within a few days 
after it had left the anchorage, the dispersed squa¬ 
dron, under Vice-Admiral Byron, which had been 
despatched from England in search of D’Estaing, 
arrived on different parts of the coast, four of them off 
Sandy Hook, which must inevitably have fallen into 
the enemy’s hands. These ships appeared originally 
to have been sent out in haste, badly manned, and ill 
equipped. They had met with unusual bad weather, 
and arrived at such different ports as they could fetch, 
most of them sickly, some dismasted, and others much 
damaged. The Cornwall, of 74 guns, was the only 
one in good condition, at least better than any of the 
others that arrived off Sandy Hook. 

It will easily be imagined with what satisfaction Lord 
Howe received this increase of force to his squadron, 
crippled as the ships were ; and having obtained in¬ 
formation that the enemy had appeared off Rhode 
Island, that he had determined to enter the harbour, 
and that, to prevent the four frigates lying there 
from falling into his hands, their commanders and 
crews had resolved to burn them—the commander- 
in-chief at once determined to put to sea, with the in¬ 
tention of giving battle to the French admiral. The 
force he took with him, and with which he appeared 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


107 


off Rhode Island, consisted of one ship of 74 guns, 
one of 70, six of 64, five of 50, and two of 44, besides 
four frigates and some smaller vessels. The number 
of guns of the ships of the line, as thirteen of them 
were then considered to be, was 866 opposed to 854, 
being 12 in his favour; but when the difference in the 
weight of metal is taken into consideration, the odds 
against him were very great. From the delay that was 
indispensable in putting to rights the damaged ships 
which had just joined him, and owing to the adverse 
winds on the passage, he was unable to reach Rhode 
Island until the 9th of August, the day after the 
French fleet had entered the harbour. The relative 
positions of the two squadrons were now just the re¬ 
verse of those they held at Sandy Hook; but they 
did not long continue to be so; for a breeze springing 
up from the north-east enabled D’Estaing to leave 
the harbour with his whole fleet, with the apparent 
intention of bringing Lord Howe to an engage¬ 
ment. His Lordship, however, justly considering the 
weather-gauge too great an advantage to be given 
to an enemy having a vastly superior force, manoeu¬ 
vred with all the skill and judgment which he so 
eminently possessed, in order to get to windward; 
but D’Estaing, naturally unwilling to yield such an 
advantage, notwithstanding his superiority, declined 
offering battle, which he could at any moment have 
done to his opponent, and persevered throughout the 
whole of the lltli in keeping his windward position. 

The wind continued the same on the following 


108 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

day, and Lord Howe, seeing that nothing was likely 
to be done but a repetition of the struggle for the 
weather-gauge, determined to offer battle, and, if ac¬ 
cepted, to engage the enemy to leeward. For this 
purpose he brought up his three frigates, each towing 
a fire-ship, into the line. Whether the French ad¬ 
miral meant to accept the challenge or not was left 
undecided, for a strong gale of wind springing up, 
and shortly increasing to a violent storm, not only put 
an end to all manoeuvring, and separated the fleets 
from each other, but dispersed them both entirely, 
and occasioned so much damage, as to make any 
attempt to renew their hostile positions utterly im¬ 
practicable. D’Estaing’s squadron appeared to have 
suffered most. His flag-ship, the Languedoc, of 90 
guns, was totally dismasted, and in this condition 
was fallen in with two days afterwards in the even¬ 
ing, by Captain Dawson of the Renown of 50 guns, 
who attacked her with such skill and vigour that, if 
daylight had continued, there could be little doubt of 
the event, especially as before he left her he had 
closed upon her, poured in some heavy broadsides, 
and shot away her rudder. He lay-to for the night, 
making sure of taking possession of her as soon as 
daylight should appear, when, to his great mortifi¬ 
cation, he perceived six French ships of war bearing 
down upon him, which compelled him to abandon 
what he might fairly consider an easy and certain 
prize. 

It is remarkable enough that, on the same evening. 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


109 


Commodore Hotham, of the Preston of 50 guns, fell 
in with the Tonnant, an 80-gun ship, which had lost 
all her masts except the mainmast. He attacked 
her with the same spirit as Captain Dawson had en¬ 
gaged the Languedoc; and the same circumstance 
of being obliged to lay by for the night, in order to 
complete his conquest in the morning occurred—that 
of having the ill luck of seeing the French fleet at 
daylight, which deprived him of a trophy no less 
certain than that which was snatched away from 
Captain Dawson. 

The dispersion of the fleet brought together two 
other ships of the contending parties, between which 
a most gallant and brilliant action was fought on very 
unequal terms. Neither of them had suffered in the 
late gale. The Isis of 50 guns, commanded by 
Captain Raynor, was chased by a French 74, carry¬ 
ing a flag, supposed to be the Zele, which, being 
the better sailer, soon came up with and commenced 
firing upon the Isis. This brought on a desperate 
engagement, which must speedily have terminated in 
the capture or destruction of the Isis, had not the con¬ 
summate skill of the commander, and the activity of 
her brave crew, made up for the great inferiority of her 
force. The action continued within pistol-shot for 
an hour and a half, when the Frenchman bore up 
and made off before the wind. The Isis had suffered 
so much in her masts and rigging as to be utterly 
unable to follow her. The modest manner in which 


110 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

Captain Raynor described this transaction, in about 
half a dozen lines, drew from Lord Howe, in his 
official report to the Admiralty, the following re¬ 
mark :—“ It is requisite I should supply the defici¬ 
ency of his recital, by observing to their Lordships 
that the superiority acquired over the enemy in the 
action appears to be not less the effect of Captain 
Raynor’s very skilful management of his ship, than 
of his distinguished resolution, and the bravery of 
his men and officers.” 

The following is an extract from a private letter 
(MS.) to a friend, giving an account of this brilliant 
action :—“ The weather had been foggy, and at noon 
cleared up a little, when a sail was seen in the north¬ 
east ; we chased, soon perceived she chased also; but 
a little wind, only giving two or three knots. At 
three discovered he was no friend, and at a quarter 
past, told fifteen ports aloft and fourteen below— 
alarming enough. He showed his colours and fired 
a gun to leeward, which we not answering to his 
satisfaction, he up lower-deck ports, out guns, and 
gave us the whole; but ill-served and ill-directed. 
The guns appeared to me to be too much overcharged. 
As soon as he passed our quarter he threw in stays: 
as soon as he put about we put our helm a starboard, 
and as soon as the larboard guns came to bear on 
him, we told them into his bows, loaded with double 
round shot, and which had an amazing effect. This 
touch of ours stopped their huzzaing, which they did 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


Ill 


a good deal before, and brought us close together : 
he then gave us his fire, which annoyed us very little. 
We lay then near an hour close along-side within 
half-musket shot, and, to my great satisfaction and 
astonishment, I found we out-fired him considerably. 
He then got upon our bow, and made the forecastle 
so hot that there was no standing upon it.” After 
detailing the manoeuvres of the two ships, till the 
enemy made sail and went off before the wind, he 
says, “ we were engaged about an hour and a half. 
It is scarcely credible, my dear friend, a little 50-gun 
ship should be so closely engaged so long as that with 
a 74, who had, when she left France, 900 men, and 
we only to lose one man and fifteen wounded, two of 
which have since died of their wounds. The captain 
of the Ceesar, as subsequent reports say, (Captain 
Bougainville,) lost his arm and an eye, and is since 
dead of his wounds, and that 70 w r ere killed, and 150 
wounded.” 

After stating the shattered condition of his rigging 
and sails, he says, “ I have been more particular with 
regard to our action than to any other person; not 
that I wish you to make it public, but on the con¬ 
trary, far otherwise; but as I know your attachment 
to your friends, my dear Redward, is great, I have 
the more pleasure in giving you every kind of satis¬ 
faction.” 

D’Estaing did not, as might have been expected, 
return to Rhode Island, but collected his scattered 


112 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

ships in Boston harbour. This gave great offence to 
his allies, who certainly had some cause to complain 
of his conduct, they having, under the assurance of 
the most effective naval co-operation, with great diffi¬ 
culty and expense, brought down a large army, which 
was now compelled to abandon possession of the 
island, and to leave the people, who had lent their 
assistance to the French, exposed to the mercy of an 
invading enemy. The troops in fact began to desert 
in great numbers, and finding that Sir William Clin¬ 
ton was on his march from New York, they were 
not obstructed, but suffered to return, without moles¬ 
tation, to the continent. 

Lord Howe, having taken for granted that, as 
D’Estaing came out from Rhode Island under pre¬ 
tence of offering him battle, he would return to that 
place, directed his fleet to make the best of their way 
to Boston as the point of rendezvous, but had the 
mortification to find that D’Estaing had got thither 
before him; and this disappointment was not dimi¬ 
nished on ascertaining that the anchorage was so 
effectually protected by batteries and defensive works, 
on every point and island in the harbour, as to ren¬ 
der any successful attack on the French squadron 
utterly impracticable; and as it appeared to him, 
from the shattered state of the enemy’s ships, and 
the position they had taken up for repairing them, 
that D’Estaing had no further intention of engag¬ 
ing in active hostilities. Lord Howe proceeded to 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


113 


New York and, having received his leave of ab¬ 
sence, and finding his health giving way, in con¬ 
sequence of the great fatigue and anxiety he had 
undergone, and that the object for which he was 
sent to America was so utterly hopeless of attain¬ 
ment, he resigned the command of the squadron there 
assembled to Rear-Admiral Gambier, and proceed¬ 
ing from thence to Rhode Island to communicate 
with Vice-Admiral Byron, he gave up the com¬ 
mand of the American station to that officer as 
commander-in-chief; having first made all the ne¬ 
cessary dispositions and arrangements for the pro¬ 
tection of the several parts of the coast then in 
our possession. 

By this time a respectable fleet had been brought 
together for the service of the American station, 
partly from England, partly from the West Indies, 
and also from Halifax, when there was no longer an 
enemy to contend with on the sea. It consisted of 
one ship of 90 guns, eight of 74, seven of 64, five 
of 50, and three of 44, making twenty-four sail of 
the line as they were then reckoned; thirty-one 
frigates from 36 to 20 guns, twelve sloops, and 
twenty armed vessels, bombs, &c., amounting to 
sixty-seven; composing in the whole an armament 
of ninety-one sail of ships: to which may be added 
about 20,000 tons of transport shipping, for victual¬ 
ling and conveying the army. For all this Lord 
Howe vras but little indebted to the Admiralty, from 


i 


114 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

whom indeed he conceived he had from the first ex¬ 
perienced great neglect. On receiving information 
from that board, when on the eve of returning, of 
his having been appointed vice-admiral of the red 
squadron, he says in reply, “ though impressed with 
a just sense of the king’s most gracious patronage 
on that occasion, I cannot cease to lament the public 
testimonies of their lordships’ disesteem which I have 
experienced by a repeated separation from the class 
of flag officers, with whom I was first advanced to 
that rank.” 

The General, Sir William Howe, had, some time 
previous to this, given up the command of the army 
to Sir Henry Clinton, disgusted with the conduct of 
the Secretary for the American Department, Lord 
George Germain. Previous to his departure, and just 
when he was resigning his command, the officers at 
Philadelphia gave him a grand fete, to which they 
gave the name of Mischianza. This entertainment is 
described as not only to have far exceeded any thing 
that had ever been seen in America, but as rivalling 
the magnificent exhibitions of that vain-glorious 
monarch, Louis XIV. of France. All the colours 
of the army were placed in a grand avenue, three 
hundred feet in length, lined with the King’s troops, 
between two triumphal arches, for the two brothers, 
the Admiral and General, to march along in pompous 
procession, followed by a numerous train of attend¬ 
ants, with seven silken knights of the Blended Rose, 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


115 


and seven more of the Burning Mountain, and four¬ 
teen damsels dressed in the Turkish fashion, each 
knight bearing an appropriate motto to the damsel 
of his choice. From this avenue they marched into 
an open area, one hundred and fifty yards square, 
lined also with the King’s troops, for the exhibition 
of a tilt and tournament, or mock fight of old chi¬ 
valry, in honour of those two heroes. On the top 
of each triumphal arch was a figure of Fame, be¬ 
spangled with stars, blowing from her trumpet, in let¬ 
ters of light, “ Tes lauriers sont Immortels .” Lord 
Cathcart acted the character of Chief of the Knights. 

This silly exhibition, got up by the army, did not 
escape the most bitter satire both in America and at 
home. It was abused and happily ridiculed by that 
vagabond Paine. “ He bounces off with his bombs 
and burning hearts, set upon the pillars of his trium¬ 
phal arch which, at the proper time of the show, 
burst out in a shower of squibs and crackers, and 
other fire works, to the delectable amazement of Miss 
Craig, Miss Chew, Miss Redman, and all the other 
Misses, dressed out as the fair damsels of the Blended 
Rose, and of the Burning Mountain, for this farce 
of knight errantry.” 

Sir William Howe could not do less than accept 
this testimony of regard, foolish as it might be, from 
his brother officers, by whom he was much beloved. 
On the day of his departure, the 24th of May, a spec¬ 
tator writes to his friend : “ I am just returned from 

i 2 


116 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

conducting our beloved General to the water side, 
and have seen him receive a more flattering testi¬ 
mony of the love and attachment of his army, than 
all the pomp and splendour of the Mischianza could 
convey to him. I have seen the most gallant of our 
officers, and those whom I least suspected of giving 
such instances of their affection, shed tears while 
they bade him farewell. The gallant and affectionate 
general of the Hessians, Knyphausen, was so moved, 
that he could not finish a compliment he began to 
pay him in his own name, and that of the officers 
who attended him. Sir Henry Clinton accompanied 
him to the wharf, where Lord Howe received him 
into his barge, and they are both gone down to Bil- 
lingsport. On my return I saw nothing but de¬ 
jected countenances*.” 

On the 26th of September 1778, Lord Howe left 
Rhode Island in the Eagle, and arrived at St. Helens 
on the 25th of October, having narrowly escaped an 
attack from a squadron of French ships of the line, 
near the chops of the Channel. On the 30th of 
that month he was ordered to strike his flag and 
come on shore. 

It has been observed that, in consequence of what 
happened regarding the court-martial held on the 
first lieutenant and others of the Diamond, soon 
after Howe arrived on the coast, an unpleasant feel¬ 
ing towards his Lordship remained on the minds of 

* Annual Register, Vol. XXI. 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


117 


some of the captains who composed the Court, hut 
there is no reason to doubt that it soon subsided, when 
they came to think soberly on the subject, and were 
satisfied that the object of the Commander-in-Chief 
could be no other than to screen them against future 
inconvenience, and that nothing like anger or 
caprice had any share in the transaction, from both 
of which no human being was more exempt than 
Lord Howe. That his Lordship was universally 
esteemed by the officers under his command in North 
America, as the first man in his profession, appears 
from the testimony of the gallant Captain Raynor of 
the Isis. In a postscript of the letter already quoted, 
this officer says, “ We are all just going to take 
leave of the first man in his profession ; how he may 
be received I know not; but he is, in my opinion, 
the first sea officer in the world, and so says every 
person here.” 

Horace Walpole has said that Howe never made 
a friendship but at the mouth of a cannon. Here 
however he made one on service, which was as last¬ 
ing as it was sudden. His predecessor, Admiral 
Shuldam, had given an acting order to Lieutenant 
Curtis, to command the Senegal sloop, and sent 
him to destroy some American privateers. He found 
it necessary to deviate from his instructions. On re¬ 
turning, Lord Howe had succeeded to the command. 
He was directed to send him his orders, was told he 
had been guilty of disobeying them, and was desired 


118 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

to state his reasons for so doing. Satisfied with his 
explanation, Lord Howe said, “ Sir, you have acted 
very properly, and I have great pleasure in confirm¬ 
ing your appointment to the Senegal.” A second 
time Curtis disobeyed an order he had received from 
Lord Howe. Having explained his conduct to his 
Lordship, he received for answer: “ Your conduct, 
with regard to the despatches, testified so correct a 
judgment in every part, that, if my concurrence in 
opinion with you on the propriety of it will convey 
all the satisfaction you do me the favour to intimate, 
you are free to indulge yourself in the enjoyment of 
that consciousness to the fullest extent.” 

This quaint approval, for so it seems to have been 
intended, if it was not a rare instance of verbiage on 
the part of his Lordship, would almost justify the re¬ 
mark which has been made of his want of clearness, 
whether in speech or writing, which, as generally 
applied, is very far from being the case. There is 
however an anecdote, told by Captain Locker (late 
lieutenant-governor of Greenwich Hospital), which 
would tend rather to corroborate the justness of the 
remark. Three or four frigates having been ordered 
on a particular service, the captains were summoned 
by Lord Howe into his cabin, to have their written in¬ 
structions more fully explained to them. After occu¬ 
pying some time in this explanation, they retired, and 
upon meeting together, after leaving the Admiral, as 
they could not fully comprehend what had been said, 


IV.] 


AMERICAN COMMAND. 


119 


they resolved on demanding a further intimation of 
his views. They agreed to toss up who should solicit 
this second interview. The one to whose lot it fell, 
after an hour’s further conference, returned to his 
colleagues, and on their seeking the needful expla¬ 
nation which they looked for, he told them he under¬ 
stood the Admiral’s orders less clearly than at the 
first interview. This accords with an observation, 
communicated by Admiral Sir Robert Stopford, 
who knew him well:— 44 Lord Howe possessed a 
very peculiar manner of explaining himself, both 
in correspondence and conversation, hut his mind 
was always clear, prompt, and willing to communi¬ 
cate with every person who consulted him, and who 
could get rid of the apparent coldness of his manner.” 
It will be seen in the sequel how far the remark 
applies, as to his correspondence. 

In a subsequent letter to Curtis, he says, 44 I beg 
I may release you from any uneasiness you may feel 
upon a fancied impropriety in the communication of 
your ideas at any time, with respect to the benefit of 
the King’s service. Exclusive of the laudable prin¬ 
ciple which induces you to take notice of such par¬ 
ticulars, as your local knowledge will more especially 
enable you to remark, I shall always reckon it a 
personal obligation to be furnished with any opinions 
which may be productive of that benefit.” 

Thus, on points of service in America, commenced 
a friendship, which endured, without intermission, 


120 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

for the space of twenty-three years—to the last hour, 
it may almost be said, of the noble Earl’s life—and, 
it may be added, to the surviving part of the family 
after his death; and it may here be mentioned, that 
to this friendship is owing the preservation of the 
almost only written documents that remain of this 
gallant officer’s own composition, consisting of a 
series of letters on various subjects, amounting to 
not less than four hundred. Their dates commence 
in the year 1776, and are carried on to 1799, the 
last written with his own hand, as every one of them 
are, sixteen days before his death. In further proof 
of the estimation in which he held his new acquaint¬ 
ance, after obtaining for him the rank of captain, 
he requested and got permission from home to take 
him as his second captain in the Eagle, and when 
paid off, procured for him an appointment to the 
Brilliant. He also, on becoming first Lord of the 
Admiralty, appointed him to the Ganges; and 
finally, took him as Captain of the Fleet in the 
Queen Charlotte, when in command of the Channel 
fleet; a situation he held at the memorable battle of 
the 1st of June 1794. 



V.] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


121 


CHAPTER V. 

.RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 

Debates in Parliament on American affairs—The part taken by Lord 
Howe—Declines serving under the then administration—Change 
of ministers—Appointed by Lord Keppel to the command of the 
Channel fleet—Sent first to the North Sea; then off Usliant— 
State of preparations for the siege of Gibraltar—The attack of, de¬ 
scribed by an Italian officer—Total destruction of the floating 
batteries—No intelligence of this had reached England when Lord 
Howe was ordered to proceed for the relief of the garrison—Loss of 
the Royal George, one of his squadron—Of Admiral Kempenfelt, 
and his signals—Attention of Lord Howe to naval tactics and evolu¬ 
tions—Anecdote, relating to his proposal for a night action— 
Arrival at, and passage through, the Strait of Gibraltar—Spanish 
fleet at anchor in the Bay—Convoy of transports and store-ships 
driven through the Strait—Covered by the fleet—Tremendous gale 
of wind—Loss of Spanish ships—Spanish fleet passes the Strait— 
Howe succeeds in relieving the garrison—Repasses the Strait, and 
offers battle off Cape Spartel—The combined fleets forty-four sail 
of the line, to thirty-four English—Partial action, which terminates 
in the combined fleet making for Cadiz—General Elliot's opinion of 
Lord Howe, and praise of Captain Curtis—Courteous conduct of the 
Due de Crillon and the French princes towards General Elliot— 
Howe, having made two detachments of fourteen sail of the line, 
returns with the rest of his fleet to St. Helens. 


Lord Howe and his brother had not much reason 
to be satisfied with the reception they met with from 
ministers on their return to England. Sir William 
said in Parliament that imputations had been cast 
upon both, for not terminating the American war 


122 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

last campaign; and he made a motion for papers to 
he laid before the house. Lord Howe said the con¬ 
duct of himself and his brother had been arraigned 
in pamphlets and newspapers, written in many in¬ 
stances by persons in high credit and confidence with 
ministers; by members of that house, in that house, 
in the face of the nation; by some of great esteem 
and respect in their public characters, and known 
to have been countenanced by the administration; 
they therefore both courted the most searching in¬ 
quiry into their conduct; for himself he wished to 
retire from all public men and public measures ; but 
he wished at the same time to do it with honour. 
The King had been graciously pleased to honour his 
brother and himself with his royal approbation, but 
the ministry had withheld it from them. He said that 
he had been deceived into his command ; that he was 
deceived while he retained it; that, tired and dis¬ 
gusted, he desired permission to resign it; that he 
would have returned as soon as he obtained leave, 
but he could not think of doing so, while a superior 
enemy remained in the American seas ; that as soon 
as Mr. Byron’s arrival removed that impediment, by 
giving a decided superiority to the British arms, he 
gladly embraced the first opportunity of returning to 
Europe ; and that a thorough recollection of what he 
suffered, induced him to decline any risk of ever re¬ 
turning to a situation, which might terminate in equal 
ill-treatment, mortification, and disgust. Such were 


V.] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


123 


his motives for resigning the command, and such for 
declining any future service, so long as the present 
ministers remained in office. 

Lord Howe had hitherto taken little share in the 
debates during the three sessions he had sat in parli¬ 
ament ; in fact, he had most of the time been em¬ 
ployed on active service. The imputed bad conduct 
of the administration towards the navy, of which he 
had practical reason to complain, now brought him 
forward. He had arrived in England just in time to 
take a part in the quarrel between Keppel and Pal- 
liser; and when Mr. Fox brought forward his motion 
for the dismissal of Sir Hugh Palliser from the navy, 
for having preferred a malicious and ill-founded ac¬ 
cusation, of a capital nature, against his commander- 
in-chief, Lord Howe said, he thought the conduct of 
Sir Hugh had been such as to render it impossible 
for him to be continued in the navy ; but if he was 
really to be tried by a court-martial, which he greatly 
preferred to that of striking him off the list, he should 
not support the motion for the address, much as he 
deprecated the whole conduct of the ministers as 
regarded the naval service. His lordship was well 
aware of the baneful influence of party, and that the 
only chance of justice being done to an individual 
accused of a crime, was by submitting his case to a 
tribunal of brother officers. 

In the debate on Dunning’s motion respecting 
courts-martial, Admiral Pigot passed several high 


124 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

encomiums oil the two great officers about to quit 
the service, the Admirals Howe and Keppel. He 
recapitulated their various services in very flattering 
terms. He begged Lord Howe’s pardon for speak¬ 
ing favourably of him to his face, as he knew no man 
liked it less; spoke of his great services at Rhode 
Island; and concluded with a general testimony, 
how calculated by every virtue, public and private, 
he was to conquer and command, by the interest he 
had in the heart of every British seaman. He trusted 
the expression, however homely, would not offend 
his lordship—that was, “ Give us Black Dick, and 
we fear nothing.” Lord Howe confessed he little 
deserved the compliments passed on him by the 
honourable gentleman, and observed he should de¬ 
serve the epithet of “ Black ” indeed, in a very dif¬ 
ferent sense, if he did not feel the most grateful 
emotions at his heart, on the very favourable opinion 
his country, his brother officers and seamen enter¬ 
tained of his feeble attempts towards a performance 
of his duty. He said it would nevertheless not be 
prudent to trust the little reputation he had earned 
by forty years’ service, his personal honour, and 
everything else which he held dear, in the hands 
of men, who had neither the ability to act on their 
own judgment, nor the integrity and good sense to 
follow the advice of others, who might know more of 
the matter. On another occasion, where his cha¬ 
racter and conduct had been praised, he said that he 


v.] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


125 


disclaimed all praise, and made no public declarations 
of the motives that induced him to quit his Majesty’s 
service; and he desired no persons would take the 
liberty of ascribing motives to him for not serving, 
of which they could only speak from conjecture. 

On the 29th February 1780, when a motion of 
thanks was proposed to be given to Admiral Sir 
George Brydges Rodney, for the late signal and im¬ 
portant services he had rendered to his King and 
country, Lord Howe said, there could be but one 
opinion that the admiral merited every mark of dis¬ 
tinction and honour which that house could bestow ; 
that he could not, without an uncommon degree of 
resolution and judgment, have obtained so successful 
a result as the attack was over the squadron of Lan- 
gara ; and he was rejoiced to find the minister stand 
up at once, on the confirmation of the news, in the 
absence of the admiral, and do him justice in the face 
of a British House of Commons. Such conduct be¬ 
came ministers, and was due to those who were risk¬ 
ing their lives and characters, at a distance from 
home, in the service of their country. 

It would not appear that, during the session of 
1781, Lord Howe took any active part in the House 
of Commons, except on questions which regarded 
the navy, or the naval administration, on which oc¬ 
casions he gave his opinions frankly but briefly—the 
silent “ characteristic of his race ” not being favour¬ 
able to long speeches. His time was principally 


126 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

spent with his family at Porters, in that domestic 
retirement which, as appears from many of his let¬ 
ters, he so much coveted. His three daughters 
were now fast advancing to womanhood, the eldest 
being twenty years of age, and all of them fit com¬ 
panions for their father, who, on his part, was fond of 
reading, and was most domestically inclined. He had 
made a declaration in the Commons, that he never 
would serve again under the present ministers, and 
calculated on a long repose in the enjoyment of a 
rural life. But in March 1782, the American 
question and the state of the navy were so pressed 
upon the ministers, that they sent in their resig¬ 
nation. 

The new administration was composed of friends 
of Lord Howe; the Marquis of Rockingham, Lord 
Shelburne, Mr. Fox, Lord John Cavendish, and 
Admiral Keppel (now created a Viscount and First 
Lord of the Admiralty), had all supported him on 
questions in which he was immediately or indirectly 
concerned. It was not likely, therefore, that under 
this change of ministers his Lordship would be suffered 
to remain unemployed. Accordingly he was imme¬ 
diately called upon to serve, and on the 9th of April 
received a summons to wait on Lord Keppel. “ On 
this evening,” Lord Howe says, “ I attended at the 
Admiralty Office, and received a commission, appoint¬ 
ing me to command in chief a squadron to be em¬ 
ployed in Channel soundings, or wherever else the 


V.] RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 127 

King’s service shall require; also a commission, 
appointing me to the rank of Admiral of the Blue 
squadron; and further, on the 10th, an order to take 
the twenty sail of the line therein specified under my 
command; and on the 20th embarked at Ports¬ 
mouth, and directed my distinguishing flag to he 
hoisted in the Victory, then ready for sea.” On the 
20th of the same month his Majesty was pleased to 
raise him to the rank of a peer of Great Britain, by 
the title of Viscount Howe, of Langar, in the county 
of Nottingham. 

Soon after this he received further directions to 
take under his command Vice-Admiral Barrington 
and Rear-Admiral Kempenfelt, and to proceed to 
the Downs, and there to take also Rear-Admiral Sir 
John Ross and his ships, under his command, the 
whole to be employed in the North Seas, to watch 
the motions of the Dutch fleet in the TexeJ. On 
this service he remained till the 2nd June, when the 
weather became so tempestuous that the fleet stood 
over to the English coast, where he received an in¬ 
timation that he would speedily be wanted at Spit- 
head, and thereupon he proceeded at once thither. 
Immediately after his arrival he received orders to 
put to sea and to cruize off Brest, for the purpose 
of intercepting, and giving battle to, the combined 
fleets of France and Spain, which had sailed from 
Cadiz on the 4tli June, and to continue fifteen days 
on that station. 


128 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

On the evening of the 28th June he put to sea with 
twenty-one sail of the line and four frigates, having 
taken under his orders Vice-Admiral Barrington and 
Rear-Admiral Kempenfelt. Light winds, calms, 
and foggy weather, prevented the fleet reaching off' 
Ushant before the 9th July. Lord Howe had re¬ 
ceived information from various ships spoken with 
in his progress down Channel, of an enemy’s squa¬ 
dron being at sea; but on this day a Portuguese brig 
gave information that he had passed through the com¬ 
bined fleet the morning before, olf Ushant, consist¬ 
ing of thirty-one ships (four of them three-deckers), 
including frigates; he therefore, as the weather 
cleared up, threw out the signal to prepare for battle , 
which was repeated to the fleet by the several divi¬ 
sional officers. The weather for the two next days 
was so bad that the Commander-in-Chief says the 
fleet could not be kept in any kind of regularity. 

Having received advice of the daily expectation of 
the West India trade, under convoy of Sir Peter 
Parker with four frigates, and that the rendezvous, 
in case of separation, was the south-west coast of 
Ireland, he proceeded to the westward, and soon after 
break of day discovered the combined fleet of the 
enemy, increased, as he had reason to believe, and 
afterwards ascertained, by a junction of the Brest 
squadron, the whole now consisting of about thirty- 
six ships of the line, besides frigates. The signal was 
made for forming in three divisions as soon as the 


V.] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


129 


enemy was first seen ; and having sufficiently ascer¬ 
tained their force, the signal was made for coming 
together on the other tack. 

And here an extract from Lord Howe’s private 
journal will show how great the mortification of the 
Commander-in-chief must have been, on finding that, 
after all the labour he had bestowed on the important 
object of completing a code of naval signals, partly 
from the very unequal sailing of his ships, and partly 
from the inexperience or inattention of several of their 
captains, very little confidence was to he placed on 
the certain execution of any one required evolution. 
The extract is as follows:— 

“ The ships were together according to the signal, 
but, instead of keeping their relative situations in¬ 
tended and would necessarily have been placed, most 
of them made sail to take stations ahead , which they 
ought to have done astern , of their respective divi¬ 
sional commanders; whereby the'weaker and worst 
sailing ships of the rear-admiral’s division became 
placed in the rear. Finding it impracticable to make 
any change in their situations, the further movements 
were directed accordingly.” But the ships were as 
much in fault as their commanders; for his lordship 
states, that he found it impossible to keep the slower- 
sailing ships connected and covered from any partial 
attack, several of them having all their sails set, some 
even studding-sails, whilst others were too far ahead 
under their topsails only. Fortunately the enemy’s 


130 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

fleet appeared to be as much divided, so that from 
seven to twelve sail were seen advanced from the rest, 
led by a three-decker, coming down under all sails set; 
but the British fleet having formed a line of battle 
ahead, the enemy declined to engage in a partial 
attack. Lord Howe therefore thought proper to get 
to the westward of the enemy, both for facilitating the 
safe passage of the Jamaica convoy into the channel, 
and for gaining the advantage for bringing them to 
action, should they think fit to follow, which how¬ 
ever they declined to do. 

The admiral continued cruising between Scilly and 
Cape Clear, for twenty-three days from first getting 
sight of the combined fleet; at the end of which, hav¬ 
ing reason to believe, from several ships of war and 
other vessels, that the whole of the valuable Jamaica 
trade had passed up Channel, he bore up for Torbay, 
where he arrived on the 4th August, and on the 15th 
the fleet anchored at Spithead. Here he received 
orders, on the 10th September, again to take under 
his command the squadron he had left at Torbay, 
together with Vice-Admiral Millbank, and Rear-Ad¬ 
miral Sir Richard Hughes of the Blue squadron, 
and to keep them in constant readiness for putting 
to sea on the shortest notice. 

The account of the tremendous preparations, on 
the part of Spain, for the siege of Gibraltar, had 
reached England, but the government was not aware 
of their extent, or that they were such as, from 


v.] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


131 


their nature and magnitude, had never before been 
attempted by any power in Europe;—the huge float¬ 
ing batteries, so constructed as to be deemed im¬ 
pervious to shot, and so contrived with tubes supplied 
with streams of water, by means of pumps, as to 
render them incombustible by red-hot shot, which 
had previously and successfully been used by the gar¬ 
rison in setting Are to some of the blockading ships 
and boats—all these preparations had satisfied the 
Spanish government that these novel machines, the 
invention and construction of an ingenious French¬ 
man, could neither be set on fire nor sunk, and that 
the destruction and capture of the fortress were now 
inevitable. 

All these mighty machines however were doomed 
to perish by the skill, the perseverance, and the de¬ 
termined and resolute bravery of General Elliot and 
his little garrison on the rock, ably assisted by a 
marine brigade of gun-boats under the command of 
Captain Curtis of the Brilliant. 

The British ministers, though not fully aware of 
the extent of the danger that threatened the garrison, 
were apprised of the renewed attempt about to be 
made of reducing it by famine, with the assistance 
of a combined fleet of France and Spain. Of the 
exact force of this fleet they were ignorant, and, as 
it afterwards appeared, underrated its magnitude. 
The time was fully arrived, however, to hasten the 

k 2 


132 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

preparations that had been in progress for some 
time ; and Lord Howe was ordered to proceed with 
the force above mentioned for the relief of the 
brave garrison of Gibraltar, the importance of 
which was considered by the people of England 
as one of the brightest jewels of the crown. The 
attack of the floating batteries, which so signally 
failed, had been hastened by certain advice that the 
British fleet under the command of Lord Howe was 
on its way to relieve the fortress; and with the view 
of preventing this, the Admiral Don Louis de Cor¬ 
dova was despatched with the combined fleet under 
his command, to support the grand attack on Gibral¬ 
tar, to prevent its relief, and to engage the British 
fleet under Lord Howe, should he make his appear¬ 
ance. The re-conquest of this fortress by the French 
and Spaniards would have given to these powers the 
entire command of the Mediterranean, and from that 
moment our influence to the eastward of the Pillars 
of Hercules would have been annihilated, and the 
national character and honour of Great Britain have 
sunk with the loss of the fortress of Gibraltar. 

Though the public is in possession of that detailed 
and highly-interesting narrative of the Siege of 
Gibraltar by Colonel Drinkwater, and other accounts 
of that memorable event, it may not be irrelevant 
to give a brief abstract of what happened previous 
to the arrival of Lord Howe, from a manuscript of 


V-] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


133 


an Italian officer in the service of Spain, on hoard 
the combined fleet*. 

“ On the morning of September 13th, 1782, the 
floating batteries got underweigh with a fair wind 
to proceed to Gibraltar, and at seven o’clock they had 
arranged themselves for the attack; whilst thus em¬ 
ployed, our batteries from the land side redoubled 
their fire upon the garrison. At nine o’clock the 
floating batteries had got within gun-shot of the 
walls, when a tremendous fire was opened upon them 
by the British garrison, by which however the com¬ 
manders were not disconcerted, but in a short time 
placed them in line so as to be able to open their 
fire together. ,, [They were completely moored, says 
Drinkwater, in little more than ten minutes.] 

“ The brunt of their fire was directed against the 
fortifications on the Old Mole and the south bastion, 
and we conceived great hopes, from the cool and in¬ 
trepid manner of beginning the attack, that our suc¬ 
cess was certain. The floating batteries were so con¬ 
structed that the shot, which pierced their sides or 
roofs, would at the same time pass through a tube 
which should discharge a quantity of water to ex¬ 
tinguish the fire which it might create; this hope 
however proved fallacious. From nine till two they 
kept up a well-directed fire with very little damage 

* This account was among the papers of the late Sir Evan Nepean, 
and sent by his son to Captain Brenton, R.N., who kindly communi¬ 
cated it to the author, though he had intended to make use of it him¬ 
self. 


134 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

on their part; but our hopes of ultimate success be¬ 
came less sanguine when, at two o’clock, the floating 
battery commanded by the Prince of Nassau (on 
board of which was also the engineer who had in¬ 
vented the machinery) began to smoke on the side 
exposed to the garrison, and it was apprehended she 
had taken fire. The firing however continued till we 
could perceive the fortifications had sustained some 
damage ; but at seven o’clock all our hopes vanished. 
The fire from our floating batteries entirely ceased, and 
rockets were thrown up as signals of distress. In 
short, the red hot balls from the garrison had by this 
time taken such good effect, that nothing now was 
thought of but saving the crews, and the boats of the 
combined fleet were immediately sent on that service. 

“ A little after midnight the floating battery, which 
had been the first to show symptoms of conflagration, 
burst out into flames, upon which the fire from the 
rock was increased with terrific vengeance ; the light 
produced from the flames was equal to noon-day, and 
greatly exposed the boats of the fleet in removing 
the crews.” [The light thrown out on all sides by 
the flames, Drinkwater says, enabled the artillery to 
point their guns with the utmost precision, whilst 
the rock and neighbouring objects were highly illu¬ 
minated, forming, with the constant flashes of our 
cannon, a mingled scene of sublimity and terror.] 
“ During the night one or other of these batteries was 
discovered to be on fire; they were so close to the 


V.] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


135 


walls that the balls pierced into them full three feet, 
but being made of solid beds of green timber, the holes 
closed up after the shot, and for want of air they did 
not immediately produce the effect. At five A.M., 
one of them blew up with a very great explosion, 
and soon after the whole of them, having been aban¬ 
doned by their crews, were on fire fore and aft, and 
many of their gallant fellows were indebted to the 
exertions of the English for their lives. As the 
English boats were towing one of these batteries 
into the Mole, not supposing her to be on fire, she 
also blew up.” 

It was at this tremendous moment that the na¬ 
tional spirit and character of Englishmen for rescuing 
fellow creatures in distress shone in their true light, 
and were never displayed with greater lustre. Bri¬ 
gadier Curtis with his little gallant crew in his pin¬ 
nace were close to this floating battery when she 
blew up, and were by the explosion involved in one 
vast cloud of fire and smoke, and masses of burning 
wood, by which the cox wain was killed, and seve¬ 
ral of the crew wounded; one of these timbers went 
through the pinnace’s bottom, and she was only saved 
from sinking by the sailors stuffing their jackets into 
the hole. All the other gun-boats were equally ex¬ 
posed, in dragging from the wrecks that had already 
exploded, and from amidst the mutilated carcasses of 
the dead, the wounded victims that were still alive, 
and in picking up from logs of wood steaming in the 




136 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

sea, the miserable wretches not yet deprived of life. 
“ Notwithstanding the efforts of the Marine Bri¬ 
gade,” says Colonel Drinkwater, “ in relieving the 
terrified victims from the burning ships, several un¬ 
fortunate men could not be removed. The scene 
at this time exhibited was as affecting as that, 
which, in the act of hostility, had been terrible and 
tremendous. Men crying from amidst the flames 
for pity and assistance; others on board those ships 
where the fire had made little progress, imploring 
relief with the most expressive gestures and signs of 
despair; whilst several equally exposed to the dan¬ 
gers of the opposite element, trusted themselves on 
various parts of the wreck to the chance of paddling 
to the shore.” 

Thus ended the last hope which had been enter¬ 
tained of the success of these formidable machines, 
with their total destruction, and the loss of 400 men, 
and 150 brass cannon of large calibre. Captain 
Curtis estimates the expense of these floating bat¬ 
teries alone at 150,000/. 

The Italian officer goes on to say, “ On the same 
day the garrison received by a ship from England 
the cheering intelligence, that Lord Howe was on 
his way with a powerful fleet, for the relief of the 
garrison. As soon as this was known, the Spanish 
admiral prepared to put to sea with the combined 
fleet, the French division having been reinforced 
with 1500 soldiers to supply the losses which they had 


V.] RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 137 

sustained during a cruize of fifteen weeks; and it is 
singular enough that, while lying in the bay, the 
whole fleet suffered dreadfully for want of provisions 
and water.” 

“ On the 18th of September an exchange of pri¬ 
soners took place. Three hundred and thirty-five 
persons saved from the batteries were sent hack to 
the Spanish lines, and highly did these men extol 
the praises of their British enemies; they said the 
English shared their provisions and their beds with 
them, and supplied them with clothing. The French 
in particular, who had been prisoners, declared in 
the camp, with tears in their eyes, they would sell 
their shirts at any time to release an Englishman 
who might fall into their hands. They also gave a 
j>iece of information to the Duke de Crillon, which 
could not have been at all agreeable—that the gar¬ 
rison was well supplied with the best of provisions, 
fruits and vegetables in great abundance; that the 
Spaniards had smuggled in these articles in the 
night time,” 

On the 24th of September the Spanish admiral 
received an express from Madrid, announcing the de¬ 
parture, on the 11 th of the month, of the British fleet 
from Spithead, for the relief of Gibraltar : as soon as 
this was known, two thousand troops were embarked 
on the Spanish ships of the line in the hay. On the 
9th of October the Spanish admiral received certain 
intelligence, that the British fleet under Viscount 


138 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

Howe had been seen off Lisbon on the 4th, steering 
to the southward with a fair wind. Soon after a 
frigate arrived, and stated she had been chased by 
the look-out ships of the British fleet. Still the 
combined fleet remained at their anchors in Algesiras 
Bay. And here we may stop for the present, and 
return to the fitting out the expedition in England 
for the relief of the fortress, no account of the above- 
mentioned tremendous attack of the floating batteries 
and its issue having reached England till after Lord 
Howe’s departure from its shores. 

The admiral, being apprised of his destination, 
lost no time in completing the necessary prepa¬ 
rations for the fleet proceeding to sea. While 
these were going forward, and the ships and trans¬ 
ports were assembling at Spithead, his Lordship 
and the nation were doomed to- experience a severe 
loss, by that unexpected calamity, which deprived 
them of the services of a gallant, highly accom¬ 
plished, and amiable officer, the Rear-Admiral Kem- 
penfelt. On Thursday, the 29th of August, about 
ten o’clock in the forenoon, the Royal George sud¬ 
denly filled, and almost instantaneously went down. 
“ It is with inexpressible concern,” says Lord Howe, 
“ that I have occasion to inform you of the loss of the 
Royal George, which ship, being upon the heel this 
morning, suddenly overset, filled, and sunk. The 
captain is much bruised, and some few of the people 
(I fear not many) have been saved: but I have not 


V.] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


139 


the satisfaction to hear that the rear-admiral is among 
the number. Much as this misfortune is to be la¬ 
mented, I esteem the loss of that officer the most 
interesting circumstance attending it, as regards the 
detriment to the King’s naval service. A fresh wind 
and lee tide prevents me, by this express, to add any 
particulars respecting this unhappy event.” 

A monument in the church-yard of Portsea com¬ 
memorates this melancholy catastrophe, by which 
fatal accident, it is stated, about nine hundred per¬ 
sons were instantly launched into eternity, among 
whom was that brave and experienced officer Rear- 
Admiral Kempenfelt. 

Very erroneous opinions were entertained of the 
cause of the loss of the Royal George, which were 
however corrected by the evidence on the court- 
martial, so as to satisfy the members of the court 
that it was not the heeling of the ship that caused 
her to sink, but that “ from the short space of time 
between the alarm being given and the sinking of 
the ship, the court was of opinion that some material 
part of her frame gave way, 'which can only be ac¬ 
counted for, by the general state of the decay of her 
timbers, as appears upon the minutes.” Admiral 
Milbank deposed that he saw her in dock at Ply¬ 
mouth ; found her so bad that, to his recollection, there 
was not a sound timber in her; the officers of the 
yard said she was so very bad, they could scarce find 
fastenings for the repairs she underwent. Sir John 


140 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


Jervis confirmed what the admiral had stated. It was 
therefore the general opinion that the whole side had 
given way bodily; and it was supposed that, on this 
account, the Navy Board discountenanced all attempts 
to raise her, which might easily have been done, 
from a conviction of the state in which she would 
have made her appearance, and which must have 
sealed their, or rather their officers’, condemnation. 

On the 1st of September the Admiral received 
orders to embark two regiments in the fleet for Gib¬ 
raltar, and to take under his charge certain transports 
with stores and provisions for the relief of the garri¬ 
son, together with such outward-bound trade as should 
be ready and willing to accompany him. His fleet 
was now increased to thirty-four sail of the line, six 
frigates, and three fire-ships; and Vice-Admirals 
Barrington and Millbank, Rear-Admirals Hood and 
Hughes, and Commodore Hotham, were placed un¬ 
der his command. This splendid fleet sailed from 
Spithead on the lltli of September. The number of 
ships of war and the convoy, when off the Start, were 
counted to be from 175 to 179 sail. When off Ushant 
they amounted to 183 sail; before reaching Cape 
Finisterre a gale of wind blowing with great violence 
dispersed the convoy; but after the weather cleared 
up 168 sail were in sight, and the following day 
183 were counted. This is mentioned merely as a 
proof of the extreme attention that must have been 
paid to the transports and trade, several of whom had 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


141 


v.] 

frequently made signals of distress, and the weather 
was generally squally and extremely hazy. 

The many delays, which more or less attend the 
care of all convoys, allowed the Commander-in-chief 
to practise the fleet in evolutions by signal; and 
in these operations he must have felt a great loss 
in the untimely death of Rear-Admiral Kempenfelt, 
one of the few officers that had taken up Lord 
Howe’s plan of numeral signals when he was a 
captain, and of whom the following anecdote is re¬ 
lated. Being Captain of Admiral Geary’s flag-ship 
when in 1780 he commanded the Channel fleet, 
he was constantly in the habit of exercising the 
ships by his signals, when the weather and other cir¬ 
cumstances would admit. One day a fleet of ships, 
supposed to be that of the enemy, hove in sight; the 
signals were resorted to, but, in the hurry and confu¬ 
sion of preparing for battle, they somehow or other 
were not managed so well as when made at more 
leisure. Geary at last grew impatient, and going up 
to Kempenfelt, and laying his hand gently on his 
shoulder, exclaimed with a good-natured earnestness, 
“ Now, my dear Kempy, do, for Gods sake, do, my 
dear Kempy, oblige me by throwing your signals 
overboard, and make that which we all understand— 

4 Bring the enemy to close action !’” So little, half 
a century ago, were numeral signals understood in 
the British navy! The following extract from a 
letter of Lord Howe, dated 10th of September 1779, 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


142 


[CH. 


will convey some notion of the importance he attached 
to this subject:— 

“ I should be glad to know what part of our sig¬ 
nals have been adopted ; I should thence be able to 
form an opinion of the principle upon which that 
great machine (the grand fleet) is to be put in mo¬ 
tion. Our signals were adopted rather for a single 
squadron; and, though most of the articles might be 
applied to a larger force, (fleets being composed of 
squadrons collectively arranged,) the necessary con¬ 
tinuation of the signals being different, the propriety 
of their use under different circumstances will vary 
also. In the disposition of them I had those objects 
in view. But the choice to be made of the expedi¬ 
ents which any set of signals has provided for, will con¬ 
stitute, as we know, the ability of the flag-oflicers. ,, 
In another letter he observes, in speaking of signals, 
“ Among other causes for regret, I think the omis¬ 
sion of officers who have served in fleets, and who 
may expect, from their rank in the service, to be 
called upon, in not being prepared with some sys¬ 
tem, resulting from their own experience and re¬ 
flection, is very principally to be regretted.” 

The following extract of a letter on a more gene¬ 
ral subject of naval tactics, written in October 1789, 
(the year after he resigned the situation of First 
Lord of the Admiralty,) is so excellent, that no apo¬ 
logy is required for inserting it here :— 

“ The looseness of our present system of tactics in 


V.] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


143 


the navy, if any system may be properly said to 
exist, is such that I cannot say I have quite made 
up my mind upon the plan that I would recommend 
for publication, were I in circumstances for being 
called upon to give an opinion on the matter. The 
digest you have made of those which have yet ap¬ 
peared in practice, and your additions to them, invite 
me to resume that train of thinking, and will help 
me very much in the arrangement of my ideas, as I 
can find leisure, or rather powers of application, to 
make any progress on the subject. I have deemed 
it very possible that this country may have to put to 
sea, in a future war, from thirty to forty, fifty, or even 
sixty sail of the line, in one collective body, similar 
to the state of things towards the end of the last and 
commencement of the present century. It has not 
appeared to me, that we have any common opinion 
among us, how such a force is to be trained and con¬ 
ducted to act with uniformity and effect; and much 
less when it is considered, you will have little if any 
opportunity to mould it into any form of discipline, 
before the moment that it is brought into the presence 
of an enemy. But we have commentators in abun¬ 
dance, who resolve freely that this or that system is too 
complicated, or too obscure for practice. Had such 
of them had practice themselves, they would rather 
turn their thoughts to the simplifying and amending 
those systems already adopted for the occasion; and 
they would know that, in the conduct of fleets, as of 


144 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

seamanship (applied to the management of a ship in 
different states of the weather), means of enlarging 
their capacities in professional science are afforded 
almost every day. I am therefore much persuaded that 
it will be better for every man, who looks forward to 
command, to perfect his own conceptions in the 
higher lines of service, and wait to bring them for¬ 
ward, when he is nominated to act in a directive 
capacity. Officers then compelled, by the occasion, 
to co-operate in a system which involves their per¬ 
sonal interests in the event, will direct their attention 
to give it validity.” 

Indeed, almost to the latest hour of his life, Howe’s 
mind was actively employed on naval subjects, and 
particularly on such matters as are connected with 
the proper management of fleets. No wonder 
that, on the present occasion, when he had in con¬ 
templation an enemy with whom he might be en¬ 
gaged in battle, possessed of a force of three to 
two, as compared with his own, he should feel solicit¬ 
ous that the several squadrons under his command 
should promptly and correctly execute such move¬ 
ments as he should think fit to order by signal. One 
of them, he had proved by experience, could not be 
depended on, and with such odds as he was likely to 
have to contend with, the least false movement might 
be fatal. That his mind was fully occupied with the 
most important business committed to his charge, 
will appear from the following anecdote, the authen- 


V.] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


145 


ticity of which can be vouched for by undeniable 
living testimony. 

One day when lying-to to collect the convoy, a sig¬ 
nal was made from the Victory for Vice-Admiral Bar¬ 
rington and the captains of his squadron to come on 
board. When assembled in his cabin, Lord Howe 
said to Barrington, “ there is no doubt the combined 
fleet opposed to us amounts at least to fifty sail of the 
line, and I have been thinking whether, from our su¬ 
perior state of discipline, and general knowledge of 
tactics, we could not devise some plan to counteract 
the inequality of force, and whether, for instance, a 
considerable advantage might not be gained by the 
inferior squadron, by attacking the superior in the 
night. It is a thought suddenly come across me, 
and as we have no better employment just now, 
we may as well discuss the question. I should there¬ 
fore, my dear Admiral, like to know your opinion 
on this point, and also that of the several captains; 
and if you please we will follow the practice of 
courts-martial, and begin with the youngest.” Each 
of the captains, supposing it might be a favourite 
plan of the admiral, gave opinions more or less in 
favour of it, until it came to the turn of Sir John 
Jervis, of the Foudroyant, who said, that although 
there had been little or no difference of opinion 
among his brother officers, he must give a dissentient 
voice to his lordship’s suggestion, and declare most 
decidedly against any such night attack, even though 


146 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

the commander-in-chief might be in favour of it; 
that, in his opinion, such confusion would be created, 
that friends might fight with each other instead 
of with the enemy; and he was moreover against 
a night action, as it would deprive the British fleet 
of the advantage of making use of his lordship’s 
admirable code of day signals, while those for the 
night were very imperfect. Admiral Barrington 
said lie entirely agreed with Jervis in all he had 
said, adding, that he preferred daylight, if it were 
for no other reason than that it would then be seen 
who did and who did not do his duty, and that if 
there happened to be a white feather in the fleet, it 
would then show itself—“ give us daylight, my lord, 
by all means, that we may see what we are about”— 

“ Give me to see, and Ajax asks no more.” 

And thus the matter ended. 

Having reached the latitude of Cape St. Vincent, 
the commander-in-chief sent a frigate on the 8th 
October to obtain intelligence from the Consul at 
Faro, respecting the motions of the enemy, in order 
that he might regulate the conduct of the fleet, 
so as to secure the most commodious and speedy 
introduction of the supplies for the garrison—the 
main end and aim of the expedition. On the 10th 
she returned with advice that the combined fleets of 
the enemy, consisting of 50 sail of the line, were 
anchored in Algesiras Bay, which was further cor¬ 
roborated by neutral ships recently from Cadiz. On 



Fiu'/Swulo rjf a, /'after oj ‘ Lord Z/o 














V-] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


147 


the receipt of this intelligence Lord Howe summoned 
the flag-officers and captains more particularly con¬ 
cerned, to communicate to them the intended dispo¬ 
sition for covering the passage of the transports to 
the anchorage under the protection of the guns of 
Gibraltar. At the same time suitable directions 
were ordered to be issued to the masters and super¬ 
intendents of the store-ships and transports. 

The next day, the 11th, the fleet bore up for the 
Straits, the convoy under the immediate charge of 
the Buffalo and Panther taking the lead. The fleet 
proceeded in three divisions, the third and centre 
squadrons in line of battle ahead ; the second squa¬ 
dron in reserve; the Victory leading ahead of the 
third squadron. At noon the fleet was steering 
through the Straits. The masters of the transports, 
either from inattention to signals, or disregard of 
their instructions, or from not being fully aware of 
the strength of the current constantly setting into 
the Mediterranean, were unable to fetch Rosia Bay ; 
the consequence was, that four of them only (without 
any obstruction from the enemy’s fleet lying in the 
bay) got into the appointed anchoring stations and 
landed their cargoes. The Spaniards, in fact, only 
discovered them on the following morning, safe at 
anchor, and beyond the reach of the guns of their 
ships. The Victory passed to the eastward of Europa 
Point ahead of the fleet, and hauled up towards the 
Spanish shore. The two following days were em- 

l 2 


148 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [cH. 

ployed in covering the remainder of the transports 
as they worked lip to the hack of the rock round 
Europa Point, in order to land the stores, provisions, 
and ammunition, and to remove the troops from the 
ships in which they were embarked; but from the 
state of the weather, and the difficulty of keeping the 
transports collected, it was not till the 17th that this 
difficult and harassing service was accomplished. 

On the 12th Captain Curtis waited on Lord Howe 
from General Elliot* He gave an account of what 
happened to the enemy’s fleet in the bay on the night 
of the 10th instant, in which they experienced a vio¬ 
lent gale of wind. It then consisted of forty-seven 
sail of the line, with three of two decks (54’s) not of 
the line. Of this number seven were of three decks, 
two Spanish and five French: he stated that the 
S. Miguel was driven on shore at the Ragged Staff, 
another on shore near the Orange Grove, and one upon 
Punta Mala, supposed to be the Terrible; and that 
two were driven to the eastward by the gale, one of 
them a three-decker; that there remained in the bay 
forty sail of the line, and three of 54 or 56 guns. It 
was for the protection of these two ships (the Italian 
officer says) which were driven to the eastward, that 
Don Louis de Cordova put to sea with the fleet on 
the 13th, in the hope, at the same time, that he might 
intercept the English convoy, and thus cut off the 
supplies for the relief of the garrison. They cleared 
Europa Point, and passed the night off Malaga per- 


v.] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


149 


fectly becalmed; while Lord Howe and his convoy 
were to the eastward of the Rock; and an easterly 
wind springing up, carried them all into Gibraltar, 
amidst the joyful shouts and acclamations of the gar¬ 
rison. 

Lord Howe, as usual, makes no parade in his pub¬ 
lic despatch nor, from what is stated therein, would 
any one be led to conclude otherwise than that every¬ 
thing went on smoothly, and that the transports and 
store-ships were conducted into port with all imagin¬ 
able facility. He only says that, “ in the morning of 
the 14th, the fleet being to the southward of the 
enemy, six or seven leagues, and the wind changing 
soon after to the eastward, the opportunity was taken 
to pass such of the store-ships, as were then with the 
fleet, into the bay; that on the 17th the rest of the 
store-ships were likewise anchored in Rosia Bay ; the 
troops embarked in the ships of Avar, together Avitli 
a large supply of poAvder from the fleet, being landed 
at the same time ; and the Avants of the garrison 
thus amply provided for in every respect, I proposed 
taking advantage immediately of the easterly Avind 
for returning through the Straits to the westAvard.” 
This hoAvever was considered as a masterly move¬ 
ment ; it Avas quite certain that the combined fleet, 
so very superior in numbers, could not do otherwise 
than make a show to follow him; he therefore drew 
them doAvn off Cape Spartel, thus giving time and 
scope for the store and provision ships to land their 


150 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

cargoes unmolested, while a fair opening was also 
afforded for their return out of the Straits to pro¬ 
ceed to England. 

And with regard to the partial action he subse¬ 
quently had with the combined fleet, he says, “ at 
break of day on the 19th the combined force of the 
enemy was seen at a little distance to the north-east. 
The British fleet being at that time so nearly between 
Europa and Ceuta Points, there was not space to form 
in order of battle oji either tack, I therefore repassed 
the Straits, followed by the enemy. The wind chang¬ 
ing the next morning (the 20th) to the northward, 
the combined fleets, consisting of forty-five or forty- 
six ships in the line, still retained the advantage of 
the wind. 

“ The British fleet being formed to leeward to re¬ 
ceive the Spaniards, they were left uninterruptedly 
to take their own distance, at which they should 
think fit to engage. They began their cannonade at 
sunset, on the van and rear, seeming to point their 
chief attack on the latter; and continued their fire at 
a considerable distance, and with little effect, until 
ten at night. It was returned occasionally from dif¬ 
ferent ships of the fleet, as their nearer approach at 
times afforded a more favourable opportunity for 
making any impression on them. 

“ The enemy hauling their wind, and the British 
fleet keeping on all night with the full sail directed 
before the commencement of their fire, the fleets were 


v.] RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 151 

now much separated. But as I conceive the know¬ 
ledge of the relief of Gibraltar may be of much con¬ 
sequence at this time, I take the opportunity, when 
it is now almost calm, and the ships are refitting the 
damages they have sustained in their masts and rig¬ 
ging by the enemy’s fire, to forward this despatch 
without further delay.” 

In a subsequent despatch of the 24th he says, the 
damages sustained and the repairs required, were not 
completed until the 22nd; but as it was mostly calm 
in the mean time, no advantage could have been 
taken to follow the enemy who, on the 21st, were 
standing away to the W. N..W., even if the masts 
had been earlier secured; and he adds, “ I have only 
to express my regret that the little confidence the 
enemy showed in their superiority, by keeping always 
as near as they could haul to the wind, prevented the 
full effect of the animated exertions, w T hich I am sure 
would have been made by every officer and seaman 
of the fleet under my command, if they could have 
closed with their opponents. But as I judged such 
nearer approach could not then be seasonably at¬ 
tempted, I made no change in the disposition of the 
ships, as formed at first to receive the enemy. 

“ For similar reasons I do not dwell more particu¬ 
larly on the merits of the flag-officers of the fleet on 
the same occasion; being certain they would dis¬ 
regard any commendation of their efforts against an 
enemy, who declined giving them an opportunity to 


15*2 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


discharge the duty of their stations in repelling a 
more serious attack. But at the same time I am 
reminded of the advantages, derived to his Majesty’s 
service, from the extensive knowledge of the difficult 
navigation within the Straits, acquired by, and the 
unremitted assiduity of, my first captain Leveson 
Gower.” 

In an action between two such numerous fleets, 
it is impossible the commander-in-chief can, from 
his own observation, ascertain the conduct of the 
several ships in their respective divisions. Howe 
therefore, anxious to satisfy himself that “ Every 
man did his duty,” called upon the two vice-admirals 
of the van and the rear squadrons, Barrington and 
Millbank, himself being in the centre, to report the 
state of the damages sustained, the numbers of killed 
and wounded, and generally the conduct of each in 
the battle. Admiral Barrington says, “ The van of 
the enemy had a choice of their distance, and happy 
should I have been, if they had thought proper to 
have closed more with us; but such was the conduct 
of the French rear-admiral, that he twice fired a 
single gun, and finding that the last went far over 
the Goliath, hauled up and began the action. I 
have the greatest satisfaction of informing your 
Lordship, how much I am satisfied with the good 
conduct of Commodore Hotliam, and all the captains 
of my squadron, who kept the finest close connected 
line I ever saw during my service at sea.” 


V.] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


153 


Admiral Millbank says, “ I have very great satis¬ 
faction in saying, the whole of the ships of my 
squadron deserve my warmest commendation for 
their conduct in the rencontre which passed with 
the enemy on the evening of the 20th instant. A 
very superior force meditated the design of cutting 
off our rear, in which they would probably have 
succeeded, had we not preserved a very close line. 
The attack was made by a vice-admiral bearing 
Spanish colours, seconded by a French commodore, 
two three-deckers, and thirteen sail of the line, few 
of the latter of which came into action; and I have 
great reason to judge that those, who did engage us, 
met with a very severe reception.” 

By the return of killed and wounded, it appears 
the numbers were, killed 68 ; wounded 208 ; 
total 276. 

Notwithstanding the favourable and indulgent 
manner in which the gallant Commander-in-chief 
speaks of the conduct of all under his command, it 
appears in his private journal that, through igno¬ 
rance or inattention, or both, perhaps also from the 
bad sailing of some of the ships, he had great cause 
to complain of their not keeping their stations: and 
it may be suspected that this was one reason for his 
wishing to give or accept battle in the open sea, 
and for that purpose he repassed the Strait. “ The 
ships,” he observes, “ were so much separated by 
the difference of their drift in the current of the 


154 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

Straits, and so little activity still apparent, or press 
of sail made (notwithstanding a repeated signal) to 
get into their stations that, being unable to form 
the ships to the northward, without ranging too 
close to the back of the hill, I made the signal to 
alter course together , for repassing the Strait on the 
starboard line of bearing, to gain more sufficient 
space in the ocean, if the enemy should be inclined 
to follow the fleet to the westward. The rear- 
admiral of the blue (Hughes) mistaking his station, 
and drawing several ships also of his division (the 
Raisonable, Bienfaisant, Berwick, and Fortitude) 
out of the proper course, leading to their stations, 
it became necessary to apprize him by signal and 
message thereof; and the other ships were suitably 
directed to the same purpose, as they could be hailed 
in passing the Victory.” 

What a complete answer would this have been, 
had the gallant commander condescended to notice 
it, to those captious cavillers who presumed to cen¬ 
sure him for repassing the Straits of Gibraltar. 

With a fleet thus separated, and the inability of 
forming the ships into their proper positions, to 
offer battle with a disparity in numbers of thirty-four 
to forty-four sail of the line, in so narrow a space, 
and in the midst of a perpetual current, to have 
brought on an engagement in such a situation would 
have been an act of madness, and utterly inexcusable, 
even if the enemy, which is not probable, should have 


V] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


155 


courted it. The commander-in-cilief indeed found it 
difficult enough to form the line advantageously in 
the open ocean. He had again occasion to make a 
signal to the rear-admiral of the blue, who had his 
mainsail up, and yet much to leeward of his station. 
He says, “ The rear-admiral’s idea appears to have 
been, that as he was then in line with the body of 
the rear, (equally wide of its proper station) he was 
duly posted. The signal he is reported to have made 
for calling the Raisonable down from her properly 
assumed station with the body of the fleet (and 
which was as properly disregarded by her captain) 
appears to authorize this supposed motive for his 
misconduct.” But there was another important con¬ 
sideration, not noticed by Howe, for his not risking 
a battle in the current of the Straits. The Spaniards 
were in possession of both shores; they had numer¬ 
ous ports to retreat to along their own coast in the 
event of a defeat, where they could refit and repair 
their damages. Howe, on the contrary, had no port 
of refuge to look to, that would afford him the means 
of repairing the damages or refitting a single ship. 
The barren rock of Gibraltar had been relieved, but 
it offered no relief whatever to a disabled fleet, 
which indeed in a crippled state would be little able 
to work up to it against the current. 

On the morning of the 21st, the combined fleet 
was seen eighteen or twenty miles distant, standing 
to the northward, with all sails set. At noon, halt 


156 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

their topsails were down in the water, and very 
shortly after they disappeared altogether. The 
English fleet, having stood in the same direction 
with the enemy, at the rate of one, two, and three 
knots, the wind very light, and nearly calm, and 
seeing nothing more of them, it was deemed inexpe¬ 
dient, in the reduced state of the water and stores, 
as well as the damaged condition of some of the 
ships, longer to continue the pursuit, especially as 
there was very little doubt they were gone into 
Cadiz to repair their damages. They had failed in 
their double object of reducing the garrison to sur¬ 
render, first by storm and then by famine; and Lord 
Howe had succeeded in his, which was that of reliev¬ 
ing it. He therefore, conformably with his instruc¬ 
tions, detached Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Hughes 
with a squadron of eight sail of the line, with orders 
to proceed to the West Indies, where the rear-admiral 
might have an opportunity of practising and perfect¬ 
ing his naval evolutions. On Saturday, the 2nd of 
November, he bore up with the rest of the fleet for 
England, detaching on his way Vice-Admiral Mill- 
bank, with six sail of the line, w ith directions to pro¬ 
ceed to Cork; and on the 14th, in the morning, he 
arrived and anchored at St. Helens, having most ably 
and gloriously accomplished that grand national ob¬ 
ject, the relief of Gibraltar, towards which the eyes, 
not of England alone, but of all Europe, had been 
turned during the whole of that year. In Paris, the 


V.] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


157 


capture of Gibraltar, by the floating batteries, was 
exhibited in one of the theatres as a spectacle , which 
drew down rapturous applause from thousands every 
night. 

On the address of thanks on the peace of 1782, 
Mr. Fox said, in speaking of the relief of Gibraltar, 
“ It was not in England only that the character of 
Lord Howe was admired; a foreigner of distinction 
had written from Paris in the following terms : 

‘ Every one here is full of admiration at the conduct 
of Lord Howe. All praise his bravery and humanity. 
All wish to take his conduct for their example. 
This makes us think that, in your country , a court- 
martial will be appointed to try him whenever he 
arrives in England.’ ” It was on this occasion that 
the great Frederick of Prussia paid his tribute of 
approbation to Lord Howe, in a letter written in his 
own hand, and sent to him, through his minister at 
this court. 

Again, on voting the navy estimates for 1783, 
Captain John Luttrel took occasion to notice, “ That 
if lie wished to pass over the consideration of what 
was due to the great spirit and masterly conduct of 
Lord Howe, and the British fleet under his com¬ 
mand, which relieved that garrison, it would not be 
attributed to any doubts he at present entertained, 
that a more essential piece of naval service to this 
country never was performed, and that it ought to 
be ranked among the foremost of those gallant ex- 


158 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

ploits, which had raised his lordship’s name so de¬ 
servedly high in his profession, and in the eye of our 
enemies.” 

It may be remarked as a curious coincidence 
between Lord Howe’s thoughts of a night battle, on 
the passage out, and the fact of his having fought 
one practically; for it was ten o’clock at night before 
the firing ceased, and there can be very little doubt, 
from the determined character of Howe that, if Bar¬ 
rington and Jervis had coincided in opinion with 
the other officers, he would have succeeded, with his 
best sailing ships, in obtaining the weather gauge, 
and fought the combined fleet the whole night. 

Howe must have been highly gratified with the 
gallant and indefatigable exertions of his friend 
Curtis, as represented to him by General Elliot, who 
writes thus in a letter to Lord Howe, dated Gib¬ 
raltar, 15th of October 1782. 

“ Unknown to Brigadier Curtis, I must entreat 
your Lordship to reflect upon the unspeakable assist¬ 
ance he has been in the defence of this place, by his 
advice, and the lead he has taken in every hazardous 
enterprize. You know him well, my Lord, there¬ 
fore such conduct on his part is no more than you 
expect; but let me beg of you not to leave him un¬ 
rewarded for such signal services. You alone can 
influence his Majesty to consider such an officer for 
what he has, and what he will in future, deserve 
wherever employed. If Gibraltar is of the value in- 


V.] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


159 


timatecl to me from office, and to be presumed by the 
steps adventured to relieve it. Brigadier Curtis is the 
man to whom the King will be chiefly indebted for 
its security. Believe me there is nothing affected in 
this declaration on my part.’ , 

Captain Curtis for his signal services at Gibraltar 
received the honour of knighthood, and had a pension 
bestowed on him of 500/. a year, payable out of old 
stores which, as appears by a note from Mr. Pitt 
to Lord Howe, was afterwards granted for life on 
the Civil List. General Elliot writes to Sir Roger 
Curtis, and says, “ You have a right to all public 
testimonies from Gibraltar, as joint commander; in 
good faith we owe you many medals; we shall be 
proud of your accepting the German one.” And 
when on his return he was created Lord Heathfield, 
he is indignant that Curtis should merely be knighted, 
and says, “ It is a shame I should be overloaded, and 
so scanty a pittance be the lot of him who bore the 
greatest share of the burthen.” In writing to Lord 
Howe, he says, “ I was oppressed to And myself 
overloaded with favours and emoluments, whilst 
Curtis, my sole adviser and partner in every branch 
of service, as well as chief of a most important de¬ 
partment, was scantily rewarded, and without whose 
assistance we should have been hard run, perhaps too 
hard, and at last shut up too close within our walls.” 

General Elliot, indeed, never ceases to acknow¬ 
ledge the important services of Lord Howe and 


160 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

Captain Curtis, and to express liis grateful feelings 
on all occasions to both. To Curtis lie says, “ Do 
offer my respects to my Lord Howe, but I believe 
you can’t venture to tell him that I and the rest of us, 
half sea-officers, are in admiration and astonishment 
at what passed under our eyes—what a glorious ma¬ 
noeuvre through the Straits!” 

Again, he says, “ The Due de Crillon returned a 
lieutenant and midshipman carried away by the crew 
of the St. Michael’s guard-boat, by whom I learn 
the high reputation Lord Howe has established 
among the Spaniards for his great abilities.” Again, 
he says, “ My respects, if you see the moment, to 
Lord Howe—that’s a man I should like to be well 
with, especially as a private man.” 

When the brave general had arrived in England, 
and was created Lord Heathfield, he left no stone 
unturned to be of service to Captain (now Sir Roger) 
Curtis, to whom he thus writes: “ The great man 
whom you and I love and admire, no doubt has 
enough to struggle with ; he alone can attempt such 
frightful labours—is it possible to succeed?—you 
know best. I wish to be on the number of his ad¬ 
mirers ; not alone for his greatness, but also for his 
goodness; he must mean the public good.” And 
again, in 1785, when Lord Howe was at the head of 
the Board of Admiralty, he says, “ I hope the good 
and great man will never leave the vessel whilst she 
can swim. You can tell him how to stop the leak 


V.] 


RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. 


161 


with a seaman’s jacket (alluding, probably, to the 
leak in his pinnace), for if he goes, all’s gone.” 

Neither were the French or Spaniards ungrateful. 
The kind and courteous offices of humanity shown to 
a distressed enemy which distinguished the old nobility 
of both countries, were, not wanting on this occasion. 
Before the arrival of Howe, when the garrison was 
reduced to the lowest ebb of provisions,—when hope 
of relief had long been deferred but not abandoned, 
—the brave General Elliot received from the Due 
d’Artois a packet of intercepted letters, which he 
obtained from the court of Madrid, for the express 
purpose of conveying them himself to Gibraltar, to 
which place he was proceeding, along with the Due 
de Bourbon, to join the besieging army. At the 
same time the Due de Crillon, the commander-in¬ 
chief of the combined forces, in sending this packet, 
wrote to General Elliot, informing him of the arrival 
of the French princes in the camp, and conveying to 
him the strongest expression of their regard and es¬ 
teem for his person and character; and he took this 
opportunity to request his acceptance of a small 
present of fruit and vegetables for his own use, and 
of some partridges and ice for his staff; and under¬ 
standing, he said, that the general lived almost en¬ 
tirely on vegetables, begged to know what particular 
kinds would be most acceptable, in order that he 
might send him a further supply. 

The reply of the general was such as became the 

M 


162 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

veteran hero. After an expression of regard for the 
princes and the duke, he informed the latter that, in 
accepting his present, he had broken a resolution he 
Lad made from the commencement of the siege, and 
hitherto strictly adhered to, never to receive or pro¬ 
cure any provisions for his own private use; that 
every article was sold publicly in the garrison, in 
order that the private soldier, if he had money, might 
purchase equally with the rest; and that he made 
it a point of honour to partake, whether of plenty or 
scarcity, in common with his brave fellow-soldiers. 
He entreated therefore that no further favours of 
this kind might be heaped upon him, as he could 
not apply them to his own use. When the preli¬ 
minary articles of peace were signed, the Due de 
Crillon sent a flag of truce to inform General Elliot 
thereof. Such were the courtesies interchanged 
among brave men, though engaged in hostilities 
with each other, before the execrable French rebel¬ 
lion destroyed all confidence and kind feeling be¬ 
tween man and man, and turned them into brutes. 



VI.] 


FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 


163 


CHAPTER VI. 

FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 

Lord Howe appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, vice Keppel— 
Quells a mutiny in the Janus—Keppel restored by the coalition 
ministry—Debates in the Lords—Change of ministers—Lord 
Howe re-appointed to the Admiralty—Duties of this department, 
and qualifications of its Chief—Difficulties and annoyances of— 
Patronage of—Promotions and appointments—Comparative state¬ 
ment of Lord Howe’s promotions, and those of the present time— 
Debates in Parliament on Lord Howe's brevet promotion—Charac¬ 
ter of Lord Howe, as given by both parties—Orders in council for 
the promotion of admirals—State of the list of captains—Proposal 
for a retired list—Motion on the subject in the House of Commons 
—Lord Howe resigns—Cause of it—Question on the eligibility of 
naval officers or landmen being at the head of the Admiralty— 
Lord Howe created an English peer, as Earl Howe and Baron of 
Langar. 

The Noble Viscount, on reaching England, seems 
to have indulged a hope that the prospect of a speedy 
and a long peace might permit him to remain in the 
enjoyment of domestic ease and felicity with his 
family, at his favourite retreat in Hertfordshire, after 
passing a short time at Bath for the benefit of his 
health. The peace came, but in the hope of its long 
duration, and the enjoyment of domestic retirement, 
he was doomed to experience disappointment. It 
would appear from a letter, dated Bath the 9th of 

m 2 


164 life of earl howe. [ch. 

January 1783, addressed to Sir Roger Curtis, that 
some overtures had been made to him to take his 
seat, as First Lord at the Board of Admiralty, and 
that Sir Roger had offered his services. “ My hap¬ 
piness,” says Howe, “ will not be less than that which 
you do me the favour to profess; if it were consistent 
with your circumstances for you to he with me, in 
the civil capacity your professional knowledge en¬ 
ables you so well to discharge the functions of. The 
idea never would have occurred to me to propose it; 
unanimating and laborious at least, as such a station 
must prove, whether in its civil or nautical concerns.” 
This was, at any rate, a civil refusal. 

A run had been made in both Houses against the 
naval administration, and the ministers were beaten 
in the Commons, in the debate on the preliminaries 
of peace. Lord Keppel, seeing how matters were 
likely to go, took the opportunity of retiring from 
the high and responsible situation he then held at 
the head of the Admiralty, on the plea that he would 
not subscribe to the terms of peace. Accordingly, 
a new patent was sealed on the 28th of January, in 
which the name of Howe was substituted for that of 
Keppel; and his board consisted of Admiral Hugh 
Pigot, Charles Brett, and Richard Hopkins, Esquires; 
the Honourable John Jefferies Pratt, John Aubrey, 
Esq., and the Honourable John Leveson Gower, his 
late first captain. 

Lord Howe soon experienced that the seat to which 


VI.] FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 165 

he had been called was not a bed of roses. A spirit 
of mutiny broke out in the ships at Portsmouth, 
Plymouth, and Sheerness, particularly at the first 
place, where the crews of several of them proceeded 
to place their officers in confinement. This mutinous 
spirit was not occasioned by any feeling of dissatis¬ 
faction, on account of alleged ill treatment by their 
officers ; it originated in suspicions, fomented by cer¬ 
tain ignorant or mischievous people from the shore, 
that the ships, just returned from foreign service, 
would not be paid off, but refitted and sent abroad 
again. There were several circumstances that ap¬ 
peared to confirm this suspicion. Some few of the 
ships were ordered into harbour, others were kept at 
Spithead and in Plymouth Sound; but that which 
gave the strongest countenance to such a report, was 
an order to fit the Janus of 44 guns for sea, though 
she had just returned from the West Indies; which 
order led the crew to believe that they were to be 
sent again to that station. The men became outrage¬ 
ous, confined their officers, and refused to let their 
captain come on board. Being fully aware that 
measures would be taken to compel a return to 
their duty, they resorted to such precautions as were 
thought necessary to defend themselves against force. 
The captain at length got on board: he harangued 
the men on the impropriety of their conduct; but 
having imprudently said the ship was to be kept in 
commission, and destined for the American station, 


166 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

they called out that they had heard enough, and 
would listen to no more ; rushed down to their 
quarters, with lighted matches, ready to fire on the 
first appearance of any meditated attack from with¬ 
out. Other ships had shown symptoms of insubor¬ 
dination, and parties of men were daily rioting on 
shore. Sir Thomas Pye, the port-admiral, became 
alarmed at this state of things, and wrote in a de¬ 
sponding tone to the Admiralty, which induced Lord 
Howe to come to the determination of going down 
to Portsmouth himself, and alone, to enquire per¬ 
sonally into the circumstances on the spot. 

Immediately on his arrival, he proceeded to Spit- 
head, having sent word to the Janus he was coming 
on board. The side was manned by the mutineers, 
and the side-ropes put over by the crew, and his 
Lordship was received with the usual honours and 
the greatest respect. He proceeded to the quarter¬ 
deck, and desired all hands to be called; told them 
how much grieved he was to hear of such mutinous 
conduct in British seamen, whom he had always 
found orderly and obedient, and for whose welfare he 
had hoped they knew he took a very deep interest; 
but that it was utterly impossible he could give any 
countenance whatever, let the cause be what it might, 
to disobedience of lawful authority, and disrespect to 
their officers. He assured them that he always had 
been, and was then, more than ever, as became the 
high and responsible situation he had the honour to 


VI.] FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 167 

hold, ready to listen to any complaints they had to 
make, and to comply with any reasonable request 
they might address to him; and told them that he 
had now come down expressly to know what their 
grievance was, and what had induced them to adopt 
a line of conduct so unbecoming British seamen. 
He assured them they were acting under the in¬ 
fluence of a false report; that the Janus would be 
paid off, although it had been decided by his pre¬ 
decessor she should be kept in commission; and, to 
say the truth, he could not but regret she was not so 
to be kept, as it was with great reluctance he parted 
with so fine a ship’s company as that then standing 
before him; however, he again assured them she 
should be paid off. Immediately on this, these brave 
but deluded men gave three hearty cheers, having, 
as they said, the fullest confidence in the declaration 
of his Lordship, whom they had long considered as 
the “ Sailor’s friend.” 

A few months after this, a mutiny also broke out 
in the Raisonable, Captain Lord Hervey, on her 
return from the Leeward Islands. This ship was 
ordered to proceed to Chatham to be paid off: the 
men declared they would not go round, but be paid 
off in Portsmouth harbour, and were preparing to 
unmoor the ship, when Lord Hervey, having observed 
this, caused twelve of the ringleaders to be instantly 
seized, and ordered into close confinement, which so 
intimidated the rest, that they returned to their duty, 


168 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

and took the ship round to Chatham. To put a stop 
to this spirit of insubordination in the fleet, an ex¬ 
ample was found to be absolutely necessary ; and 
for this purpose a court-martial was held on the 
twelve prisoners on board the Raisonable; seven of 
them received sentence of death; three to have each 
three hundred lashes, and two were acquitted. Three 
of the seven were executed, but, at the intercession 
of Lord Hervey, the punishment of all the rest was 
remitted. 

Such was the commencement of the new and un¬ 
pleasant situation to which Lord Howe had succeeded, 
the cause of which occurred in the course of the first 
three months after his acceptance of office, a conti¬ 
nuance in which, indeed, to his great gratification, 
lasted only about that time. In the distracted and 
unsettled state of the country, after a long and ex¬ 
hausting war, and the violence of parties in the two 
houses of Parliament, the ministers, finding them¬ 
selves unable to conduct the affairs of government 
with credit to themselves, or advantage to the country, 
formed a coalition with their opponents, and the public 
saw, not without surprise and disgust, Lord North 
and Mr. Fox sitting together on the Treasury Bench. 
This change, by restoring Admiral Lord Keppel to 
the head of the Board of Admiralty, released Lord 
Howe from a situation he never sought or coveted. 
On the 16th April, a week after he quitted his post, 
he thus writes:—“ Before you receive this, you will 


VI.] FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 169 

most probably have heard of the changes in the 
government, which have restored me to the enjoy¬ 
ment of as much ease and indulgence as the weakened 
state of this country will allow me to taste.” 

During his short administration of the affairs of 
the navy, he spoke hut once in the House of Lords. 
It was in the debate on the Preliminaries of Peace. 
He gave a detailed account of the state in which 
he found our navy, as compared with that of other 
powers. He recounted the transactions of the late 
campaign, and attributed a great deal of our success 
to chance; for, in a competition of strength with the 
enemy, we were greatly inferior: many of our ships, 
he observed, were in a poor condition; that, for in¬ 
stance, on which he hoisted his flag, the Victory, 
was very bad and very filthy : and he concluded by 
observing that, if no other good attended the present 
pacification than the mere breathing time it gave us, 
we ought to count the interval a happy one, and 
instead of idly flinging aw r ay our remaining strength 
in unnatural squabbles among ourselves, unite and 
endeavour to make the best use of our time, in re¬ 
cruiting against the possibility of future hostility. 
This, he trusted, their Lordships’ good sense would 
consider to be the advice of patriotism, and not of 
party. 

Lord Keppel maintained that our naval force was 
superior to that of the late enemy, and that he com¬ 
puted our ships of the line, good, bad, and indifferent, 


170 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

to be one hundred and nine. 'On which Lord Howe 
observed, he could not subscribe to the mode his 
Lordship took of estimating the naval strength of 
Great Britain, under the description of good, bad, 
and indifferent; good and indifferent a prudent man 
would think was stretching the account to the utmost 
verge of show; indeed he could hardly say, utility; 
but to include the bad in the statement, would be 
dangerous computation indeed. 

Lord Howe’s time, during the remainder of the 
year 1783, was chiefly passed at Bath, Weymouth, 
and Porters. He appears rarely to have attended the 
House of Lords, and very seldom to have spoken ; the 
Admiralty in fact was, on very few occasions, brought 
into debate. Once, however, in the discussion that 
took place on the Loan Bill, he made an attack on 
the new administration; and, among other matters 
of crimination, he said, “ The Admiralty department 
was, he must own, the least active of any great de¬ 
partment, with a view to reform.” Lord Keppel 
said, that plans of reform could only be attended to 
in times of peace, and complained of the Noble Earl 
(Shelburne) having endeavoured insidiously to in¬ 
terfere with the office in a manner extremely inconve¬ 
nient and, as he thought, impolitic, for it tended most 
unseasonably to diminish the influence and authority 
of the Admiralty Board over the subordinate boards, 
by making them accountable to the Treasury. The 
Earl of Shelburne said, that Lord Howe had ex- 


VI.] FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 171 

pressly come into office, on an agreement to push 
the reform of his department with the same vigour 
that had distinguished the Noble Duke’s (Richmond) 
Ordnance Office reform. He added, that Lord Howe, 
when he came home from Gibraltar, complained of 
the had discipline of the fleet, insomuch, that the 
Noble Viscount had declared the peace absolutely 
necessary; since he did not think it safe for a man 
to trust himself with a fleet, while such a total want 
of discipline prevailed. Lord Keppel, in reply, ob¬ 
served, that Lord Howe neither directly nor indi¬ 
rectly made any such complaint to him; and as to 
discipline, that lay not with him, but with the com¬ 
mander-in-chief ; at least he should have thought 
so, had he been at the head of the Gibraltar fleet: 
but as the Noble Viscount was absent, it would be 
better to say no more on the subject till he could be 
there to answer for himself. 

It appears somewhat strange that a debate on such 
a subject as a loan should have diverged into a per¬ 
sonal question, in no way connected with it, for it 
ended by Lord Keppel charging the Noble Earl with 
having interfered with his office through clerks, un¬ 
known to him, and in an underhand manner. At 
this Lord Shelburne took Are, and said he would 
answer the charge in one word, It was false. [ Order , 
order.] He meant not to apply the word to the 
Noble Viscount, but that the information, from which 
he had spoken, was a falsity. He scorned any thing 


172 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

like underhand work, as much as the Noble Viscount. 
If the Noble Viscount alluded to the Victualling Office, 
the abuses in that office were gross and scandalous, 
and called loudly for reform. If he meant the Navy 
Office, that was necessarily and naturally connected 
with the Board of Treasury; one of its officers, a 
respectable and worthy character, having frequently 
attended him;—and it ended by Lord Shelburne say¬ 
ing, the Noble Viscount had made a direct attack 
upon him. 

The coalition administration had to endure many 
severe attacks in the Commons, from Mr. Pitt and 
Mr. Dundas particularly, and Mr. Fox’s India Bill 
linally upset them. On the 18th December 1783, 
at twelve o’clock on Thursday night, a messenger 
delivered to the two Secretaries of State, Lord North 
and Mr. Fox, his Majesty’s orders, “ that they should 
deliver up the seals of their offices, and send them 
by the Under Secretaries, Mr. Frazer and Mr. Nepean, 
as a personal interview on the occasion would be 
disagreeable to him.” It was on this occasion, the 
weather being wet and boisterous, that Lord North 
is said to have exclaimed, “ What! turn us out in 
such a night as this!” 

The new ministry stood as under:— 

Right Honourable William Pitt, Chancellor of the 
Exchequer ; Marquis of Carmarthen, Foreign Se¬ 
cretary ; Lord Sidney, Home Secretary; Duke of 
Richmond, Master General of Ordnance; Lord Vis- 


VI.] 


FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 


173 


count Howe, First Lord of the Admiralty ; Mr. Henry 
Dundas, Treasurer of the Navy. 

Thus was Lord Howe a second time brought into 
an office, for the duties of which he had little relish, 
and probably, for some of them, as little qualification; 
having frequently professed himself to be a very bad 
politician. It could, therefore, have been acceptable 
only, as connected with the naval service, to all and 
every part of which he was devotedly attached. The 
prominent situation in which the Noble Lord’s career 
in the navy, and above all his moral worth and strict 
integrity as well as his professional character, had 
placed him in the public mind, pointed him out to the 
minister, as one eminently suited to fill the office of 
First Lord of the Admiralty. He stood decidedly at 
the head of the naval profession, and enjoyed the 
undivided confidence of all ranks in the service. 
The appointment of such a man was hailed as a 
happy omen for upholding the character of the 
navy. 

The other qualifications necessary to enable this 
minister to fulfil all the duties of that important 
branch of the naval service, are not required to be 
of the very highest order. Good sense, honesty, and 
impartiality, are the chief requisites to carry him 
smoothly and plausibly through the routine of busi¬ 
ness, provided a sufficient sum of money be granted 
on the Navy Estimates, adequate to the building, 
repairing, and maintaining such a fleet as shall be 


174 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

equal to any exigency the country may require; 
that the selection for promotion of officers, who have 
rendered brilliant and meritorious services, he left to 
his choice and discretion, and not interfered with 
from other quarters; and that he be assisted by able 
and honest professional colleagues. Under these 
conditions, the minister appointed to the head of the 
naval department may sleep upon a bed of roses ; 
will meet with nothing but smiling faces at his levees, 
and be hailed as the decus et tutamen of that strong 
arm of power, on which the safety, honour, and 
prosperity of the British empire mainly depend. 
But, unfortunately, this is not always, it may be 
said seldom, the state of the case. He must be con¬ 
tent to rub on with such funds as the Cabinet, or the 
Chancellor of the Exchequer, are willing to give him, 
and the House of Commons to vote; and must not 
expect to act altogether as a free agent in matters 
of promotion. Perhaps the following brief outline 
will be found to convey the general nature of the 
qualifications, character, and duties of a First Lord 
of the Admiralty. 

The chief of the naval administration of the United 
Kingdom undertakes one of the most important and 
responsible offices of the state. To him, and to his 
co-adjutors, are intrusted the proper management and 
direction of the great arm of our strength, and with 
it the highest interests of the community. Without 
a well-appointed and commanding naval force, the 




VI.] FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 175 

British army, and the lofty spirit of Britons, would 
be confined to their own shores at home, and become 
powerless and unknown abroad; their commerce 
would fall into decay, and pass into other hands, and 
we should once more be reproached as the Britanni 
toto ab orbe eccclusi , instead as now known and 
feared, and respected, in every part of the globe. 

In the selection therefore of the minister, who is 
to give to this powerful machine life and vigour and 
its proper direction, it must be of the first import¬ 
ance that his qualifications to fill the office with 
credit to himself, and benefit to the country, should 
be well considered—he should possess a general 
knowledge of naval history and jurisprudence—good 
sense and unblemished integrity—a sound judgment 
and great discretion—a patient and placid temper— 
a courteous deportment and civil demeanour to all— 
an easy access to officers of every rank ; and a ready 
and obliging acknowledgment of all applications ad¬ 
dressed to him in writing—he should make himself 
well acquainted with the services and the claims of 
individuals of the several ranks of officers; and al¬ 
though, in the present overgrown state of the lists, 
it is not possible to comply with the multitude of 
claims preferred, more or less strong, yet a kind 
manner of receiving and replying to them, personally 
or by letter, goes a great way to soften the bitter 
pangs of disappointment, the unavoidable result of a 
non-compliance with what is requested. 


176 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

The two principal and most painful sources of 
vexation and annoyance, which a First Lord of the 
Admiralty must lay his account of being doomed to un¬ 
dergo,—and they are brought perpetually before him, 
and if he be endued with the proper feelings of huma¬ 
nity, must perpetually distress him—are, the pressing 
solicitations for promotion, and for employment. The 
scenes of disappointed expectation—of enduring po¬ 
verty and hopeless misery—that are constantly forcing 
themselves upon him, and which he has not the 
means of relieving, none but himself can form any 
idea of; and in portioning out the small pittance of 
patronage left at his disposal, and in weighing the 
respective claims of the numerous candidates, it is 
needless to say what conflicting opinions and senti¬ 
ments regarding the superiority of such claims—what 
doubts and hesitation—must pass through his mind in 
endeavouring to make a just and proper decision in the 
selection of the fortunate individual. He has also to 
bear in mind that, while the claims of the officer are 
under consideration, the claims of the service are not 
to be lost sight of; and whenever the one, however 
strong and cogent, may be in opposition to the other, 
there is but one course left to arrive at that deci¬ 
sion. 

The materiel of the machine requires no less at¬ 
tention than the personnel , though of a different and 
less delicate nature. To watch over the civil con¬ 
cerns of the navy—to check all unnecessary expendi- 


VI.] FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 177 

ture in the various establishments—to keep up a 
supply of stores, and an efficient fleet, whenever its 
services may be called for, while every attention is 
paid to economy—require a constant, vigilant, and 
inquisitive superintendence. Ships must be in readi¬ 
ness, whether in war or peace,—large fleets in the 
former case, and in the latter, guard-ships, experimental 
squadrons, or what are now termed demonstration 
ships, or ships kept in a certain state of preparation, 
besides others of various sizes to satisfy the demands 
of the mercantile interest; for the governors of co¬ 
lonies, always clamorous for naval protection—and 
others for the suppression of the Slave Trade, packet 
service, &c. The naval establishments at the ports ;— 
the dock-yards, victualling yards, medical, transport, 
and marine departments;—require occasionally the 
personal inspection of the First Lord of the Ad¬ 
miralty, for these are the great absorbents of naval 
expenditure. Lord Sandwich had done as much as 
he could venture to do in controlling naval expenses, 
but Sir Charles Middleton, the Comptroller, (after¬ 
wards Lord Barham,) a flag-officer, acting with his 
board under the king’s patent, was frequently found 
to be too much for him. 

About the time of Lord Howe’s appointment, a 
clamour prevailed in the country against the large 
public expenditure, generally, which induced Mr. Pitt 
to exact from his Lordship, (and indeed from the 
heads of all departments entrusted with public mo- 

N 


178 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

nies,) a pledge for the observance of the strictest 
economy in every branch of the naval service. This 
necessarily brought him in immediate collision with 
the Navy Board, in whom the greater portion of 
the expenditure of naval money was vested. «In 1784 
he commenced his economical measures by propos¬ 
ing a reduction in the number of commissioners (cap¬ 
tains in the navy), as being more than was neces¬ 
sary. Sir Charles Middleton combated the propo¬ 
sition, assigning a great many reasons why they 
should not be reduced, and concluded a long argu¬ 
mentative letter by observing, that “ when the public 
cannot afford this, I shall request his Majesty’s ac¬ 
ceptance of my resignation.” Lord Howe’s reply is, 
as usual, brief and much to the purpose: “ Upon an 
attentive perusal of your letter, I perceive we differ in 
opinion on the propriety of the arrangements, which 
are the subject of it; as I found, on my late inspec¬ 
tion of the yards, we likewise do in several points 
concerning the service of the ports. By the arrange¬ 
ments at the Navy Board, the senior of the two extra 
nautical commissioners is retained. But as you inti¬ 
mate a probability that our difference of opinion, in 
the former instance, will induce you to quit your situa¬ 
tion in the civil line, I will only add that I flatter 
myself the public will have the benefit of your abili¬ 
ties in the military branch of your profession, in that 
case, when the king’s service may require it.” A 
great difference of opinion, indeed an evident want of 


VI.] 


FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 


179 


cordiality, and a stiffness of expression, appear in the 
whole of the correspondence between the First Lord 
and the Comptroller; and such has so frequently been 
the case between the Admiralty and the Navy Board, 
that it is somewhat surprising the services of the 
latter board were not earlier dispensed with. A part 
of the question, at issue with Lord Howe, seems to 
have been the propriety of a flag-officer sitting at a 
civil and subordinate board, while captains were 
mostly lords of the Admiralty. 

Lord Howe’s second administration commenced also 
with another determination—the restriction, as far as 
possible, on naval promotions, by which a gradual 
reduction of the half-pay lists would be effected; this 
of course was a most unpopular measure in the ser¬ 
vice. He did not, however, as has been imputed to 
him, stop all promotion ; on the contrary, considering 
the state of the lists at that time, and as they stand at 
present, the promotions made by Lord Howe greatly 
exceeded the proportion made in the latter period. 
It may be curious to see how the lists and the promo¬ 
tions stood at the respective periods just mentioned. 


Number* promoted in five 


years preceding 
1787. 1836. 

9 35 

71 55 

47 86 

127 185 


State of the Lists in 
1787. 1836. 

54 165 

418 755 

177 823 

J 329 2976 


Flag-0 fficers . 
Captains 
Commanders . 
Lieutenants 


To the above numbers may be added, in the latter 
period, 100 retired commanders, and 182 lieutenants 


n 2 


180 


LIFE OF EARL IIOWE. 


[CH. 

with the rank of commander. Besides the above 
numbers, in the brevet promotion of 1787, sixteen ad¬ 
mirals were then made, and forty captains passed over. 
In the brevet (the only promotion of admirals in live 
years) of 1836, thirty-five (as above) were made 
admirals, and thirty-four captains were passed over. 
It cannot be said therefore that Lord Howe had not 
his full share of patronage, as compared with that of 
the present day. 

Though Lord Howe acted in strict conformity 
with the then existing Orders in Council for regulating 
flag promotions, so great a number of old captains 
being set aside, and placed upon the superannuated 
list or, as it was then called, the list of yellow admi¬ 
rals, caused very general discontent in the service. 
The subject was taken up in both houses of parlia¬ 
ment, and provoked, in the Commons particularly, 
several angry discussions. On the 20th of February 
1788, Lord Rawdon moved in the Lords, that ££ An 
humble address be presented to his Majesty, praying 
that he would be graciously pleased to take into his 
royal consideration the services of such captains of 
his Majesty’s navy as were passed over in the last 
promotion of admirals.” Lord Rawdon’s speech was 
exceedingly temperate, but condemned the system 
which allowed veterans, who had bled in defence of 
the country, to be passed over at the caprice of a 
minister. Fie argued that the Board of Admiralty 
seemed to be conscious that they had done an injury 


VI.] FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 181 

to those men who had been superseded, and, as some 
compensation, had offered every one of them the half¬ 
pay of a rear-admiral. If his Lordship had looked at 
the Order in Council of 1747, he would have found 
it was therein directed that they should enjoy the said 
half-pay, and that no discretion rested with the Ad¬ 
miralty, provided such captains had served at sea 
since the commencement of the then existing war 
with Spain; which was further modified by another 
order of 1771, granting the said retirement to all 
captains set aside, who had served, with the approba¬ 
tion of the Admiralty, in any war immediately preced¬ 
ing their being so set aside. 

Lord Howe contended that the First Lord of the 
Admiralty was responsible for the good conduct and 
well-being of the naval service, and that, with the 
responsibility, he must necessarily be entitled to exer¬ 
cise his own discretion, in every branch of the execu¬ 
tive duty of the Admiralty Board; it was painful to 
him, in the exercise of that discretion, to set officers 
aside, and it would be invidious in him to explain 
the particular reasons which operated on his judg¬ 
ment, as well as cruel in the House to desire him to do 
so: their Lordships, he said, must be aware that an 
officer who had displayed great bravery in the com¬ 
mand of a ship, might not be qualified to command a 
fleet; and that, if the House thought proper to take 
upon themselves the promotion of military officers, he 
should feel himself eased of the greatest anxiety in his 


182 life of earl howe. [ch. 

situation and, of course, escape from the painful re¬ 
sponsibility of office; he assured their Lordships that 
patronage was not so desirable as might be imagined, 
and that he was sure, out of twenty candidates for an 
appointment, to disappoint nineteen, and by no means 
certain of pleasing the twentieth. That he looked 
upon the half-pay of a rear-admiral, given to those 
officers superseded, on no other ground than as a 
compensation for past services. 

Lord Sandwich thought it extremely improper for 
the House to interfere with the executive government. 
Let their Lordships only consider for a moment the 
embarrassments which must be felt, if promotions of 
admirals were to be made by the House of Lords. 
If the House of Lords took upon themselves a promo¬ 
tion of admirals, one lord would rise in his place and 
say, “ Pray don’t pass over my brother, make him an 
admiral!” Another would stand up in that place 
and intercede for his relation. Nor would applica¬ 
tions be confined within these walls; each noble lord 
would be pestered at home to intercede for different 
captains; nay, even the ladies—and the House well 
knew the irresistible fascination of female influence— 
would catch hold of a peer’s hand, clasp it with 
ardour, and say, “ My dear lord, pray get my son 
made an admiral.” But he would rather recommend 
the Commons; they, no doubt, would receive num¬ 
berless petitions from the different boroughs, and their 
constituents would send them up instructions who 


VI.] FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 183 

were the fittest persons to he voted admirals. Ridi¬ 
cule apart, he said it had been found, at different 
periods, extremely inconvenient and detrimental to 
the service, that promotions to flags should be go¬ 
verned by seniority. In 1747, he said, the Board well 
knew that there were on the list captains in a supe¬ 
rior degree qualified to command fleets; but standing 
low down, the difficulty was how to get at them, with¬ 
out loading the public with an intolerable expense. 
In concert therefore, his Lordship said, with two 
noble lords, the one a land, the other a naval, officer— 
the late Duke of Bedford, and the late Lord Anson— 
he had taken his share in planning the superannu¬ 
ated list, and he had been the person in whose hands 
it had principally been brought to bear. At that 
time eight admirals only were made, and nineteen 
captains passed over; and yet there was no complaint 
then; no motion before that House to address his 
Majesty on the subject, nor any idea of injustice or 
partiality entertained. 

Lord Rawdon replied, and the motion was nega¬ 
tived without a division. 

Not so however in the Commons. Mr. Bastard 
brought forward a motion on the omission of two 
individual officers, by name, in the flag promotion; 
made an intemperate speech, and totally misunder^ 
stood the Order in Council of 1747; maintaining 
that the yellow list was an institution, provided only 
for such officers as were unfit to serve, either from 


184 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

want of capacity or from infirmity; not one word of 
which is to be found in the said Order in Council. 
He argued that, if it was left to the Admiralty to make 
a selection, the tendency would be to regard nothing 
but servility and meanness; to manifest a studious 
attention to the caprice of a First Lord of the Ad¬ 
miralty ; to show a readiness to run on his errands : 
to be his flatterer, his follower, and perhaps his pimp. 

Mr. Beaufoy made an able reply; and Mr. Pitt 
pointed out the danger of the House of Commons in¬ 
terfering with the duties of the First Lord of the 
Admiralty; he rebuked the mover, Mr. Bastard, 
hoping the very gross manner in which he had de¬ 
scribed the offices, that candidates for promotion must 
assume, was rather to be imputed to an intemperate 
phrase having escaped him, in the warmth of debate, 
than to any settled design of throwing out an in¬ 
sinuation of an illiberal nature, with a view to fix a 
stigma on the character of the First Lord of the Ad¬ 
miralty. He maintained that the superannuated 
officers were not, as had been said, rejected, degraded, 
and stigmatized; but that the very reverse was the 
fact. It was an honourable retreat from service, a 
comfortable provision for advanced years, and a fit 
reward for meritorious services. He observed that, 
since its institution, 139 captains had been promoted 
to the flag and 244 superannuated; and he asked if 
the honourable gentleman considered these brave and 
gallant officers degraded, or that they were passed 


VI.] FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 185 

over from incapacity ? Mr. Bastard seeing the sense 
of the House against his motion, with its consent 
withdrew it, giving notice that, on a future occasion, 
he would move for a committee of the whole House, 
(which he did on the 18th of April) to inquire into 
the conduct of the Admiralty on the late promotion 
of admirals. The debate was long and somewhat 
stormy, but the arguments were nearly the same as 
before. The motion was lost by a majority of six¬ 
teen, and this induced the mover to give notice that 
he would bring it on again in another shape; which 
was done on the 29th of the same month, when the 
motion was negatived by a majority of 51. 

In all these debates, none of the opposition mem¬ 
bers attempted to impeach Lord Howe of any in¬ 
terested or personal motive, for the selection made 
in the promotion. Mr. Fox condemned the promo¬ 
tion as unjust to certain individuals, but distinctly 
declared that, if he was asked whether every captain, 
who had merely negative merit as an officer, ought 
to be made an admiral, he should answer—no. The 
office of an admiral, he said, ought to be considered 
in two views; and the right view undoubtedly was to 
prospective service, and an eye to selection was most 
proper and justifiable. Mr. Grenville, in a future 
debate, agreed with Mr. Fox that promotion should 
be bestowed with a view to future service—and 
asked, did not the honourable gentleman say future 
service ? Mr. Fox nodded assent. The other view 


186 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [cH. 

was to reward meritorious past services in some other 
way. Sir John Miller assured the house, that he 
fully absolved Lord Howe’s want of integrity, while 
he as decidedly condemned his judgment. He con¬ 
sidered him as a man distinguished for his abilities, 
his integrity and his justice—and he lamented that 
during the residence of the noble Lord at the Board 
of Admiralty, whom he believed to be as honest and 
as brave a man as any that existed, and to whose 
conduct and command he would most freely confide 
that fleet, that should fight for the last stake of the 
country, a precedent should be attempted to be 
established, which had both irritated and disgusted 
every seaman of Great Britain, except only a few 
gentlemen of that profession,—those present in the 
house. Admiral Lord Hood said, the noble First 
Lord of the Admiralty stood high in the opinion of 
his profession, as a brave and skilful officer; he had 
hitherto continued unimpeached in honour, and un¬ 
impeached in point of integrity. It was not likely 
therefore that his conduct, in the late promotion, 
would have been actuated by any indirect motive. 
It was impossible for him to imagine that an officer, 
who had trodden the deck of honour, could, upon his 
holding the naval administration, plunge into the sink 
of corruption. Mr. Grenville said, no man had 
attempted to suggest that the First Lord had been 
influenced by any improper motive in the late pro¬ 
motion. 


VI.] 


FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 


187 


These debates took place in February and April, 
and Lord Howe retired from the Board in July follow¬ 
ing. There is some reason to suppose that the disgust 
he felt 4 at this interference, on the part of the Lords 
and Commons, and the abuse heaped on the Board, on 
account of the promotion which had been conscien¬ 
tiously made, might have had some share in deter¬ 
mining him to resign, though, as will appear pre¬ 
sently, that was not the only reason. It may be ob¬ 
served, with regard to the Orders in Council of 1747 
and 1771, that they were not calculated to give satis¬ 
faction to any party; and that the two subsequent ones 
of 1804 and of 1816 were still less so; they were in¬ 
deed so absurd, as well as unjust and oppressive, that 
when his late Majesty was Lord High Admiral, he 
abrogated the whole of them and procured a fresh 
one which, in its operation, is somewhat less objec¬ 
tionable, but in a very small degree. By the Order 
of 1816 all captains, not employed in the last war, 
preceding a brevet, however short (as that of Al¬ 
giers or the hundred days), would be passed over, 
and the number in that predicament would embrace 
the greatest portion on the list. With a view to re¬ 
medy this gross injustice, the Order in Council of the 
Lord High Admiral of June 1827 provides that cap¬ 
tains, with unblemished character, who shall not have 
declined or avoided service, shall (provided the pro¬ 
motion shall extend down to their standing on the 
list) be superannuated with the rank of retired rear- 


188 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

admiral, when passed over in any promotion of flag- 
officers. Then with regard to the effective flag, it pro¬ 
vides that captains (if by their characters and other 
qualifications they be considered eligible for promo¬ 
tion) shall be deemed eligible, if they have com¬ 
manded one or more rated ships four complete years 
during war, or six complete years during peace, or 
five complete years of war and peace combined. 

There is still some absurdity, and great injustice in 
this regulation. The injustice and hardship of this 
Order consist in the difficulty, perhaps it may be said 
impossibility, of a great number of captains, however 
high their character, having a chance even of being able 
to procure appointments to command ships for the spe¬ 
cified periods, especially during peace; in consequence 
of which the very best officers in the service, being 
thus disqualified, must be passed over—the absurdity 
is, that officers, however old, infirm and helpless, hav¬ 
ing completed the proper time of service, and being 
therefore qualified, must be promoted to the rank of 
rear-admiral, and placed on the effective list: for it 
may be observed, that the other qualifications of eli¬ 
gibility, mentioned in the Order in Council, have not 
been taken into any consideration. It is more than 
probable therefore that selection, for which Lord Howe 
was so much abused in the House of Commons, will 
be the next rule resorted to ; and that officers must 
be content to rest their claims, where alone they can 
best be known, on the equitable decision of the Board 


vl] first lord of the admiralty. 189 

of Admiralty, which can, or ought to, have no other 
object than to select those, who will do most credit 
to its administration of naval affairs, by their cha¬ 
racters, services, and efficiency. 

When the state of the list of captains is looked 
into,—when the ages of those within two hundred 
of the top are considered, and the little probability of 
another brevet promotion speedily happening, and 
when, if ever, it does happen, the few that can be 
deemed eligible for the effective flag,—the necessity of 
doing something to clear that list must be apparent; 
and perhaps the simplest and most equitable mode of 
proceeding would be, to let it be generally understood 
that, on application to the Lords of the Admiralty, 
any captain within the two hundred, “ who shall not 
have declined or avoided service,” will be allowed to 
retire with 365/. a year, (or some other sum) for the 
remainder of his life, with the rank of retired rear- 
admiral. A stipend to this amount, commencing 
immediately, would probably be considered by many 
preferable to an indefinitely deferred annuity of 450/., 
the half-pay of a rear-admiral. 

A motion it seems has been made by a captain 
of the navy, and carried, in the House of Commons, 
to clear the captains’ list of non-effective officers by 
survey, an ordeal to which few captains will probably 
submit. A voluntary retirement must be far more 
acceptable than a compulsory one thus procured. 
But while clearing the captains’ list, are the admirals, 


190 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

composed as they mostly must be, of old and inefficient 
captains, and not the better for increasing years,—are 
they to be exempt from survey, and to go on in their 
promotion from the lowest to the highest rank ? Is 
an inefficient captain, made, as by the present Order 
he must be, an effective rear-admiral, and some twenty 
years afterwards, when 

“-Lis way of life 

Is fallen into the sear, the yellow leaf,” 

is he to be promoted to a full admiral, with nearly a 
double increase of half-pay ? 

It has often been asked, why not apply the regula¬ 
tion of one promotion in three deaths to flag-officers ? 
The measure might be made a good one, and highly 
beneficial to the service, provided selection, as in the 
promotion of captains, was to be the rule; that is to 
say, on the death of any three admirals, let a captain of 
a certain standing on the list be selected for promo¬ 
tion to the rank of rear-admiral; and on the death of 
three admirals of any one class, let one be promoted 
from the next lower class, also by selection. Thus 
would the list of admirals be improved by adding to 
it yearly three or four efficient captains. It requires 
no little nerve to set aside long established usage, es¬ 
pecially when the interests of great bodies of men are 
concerned; but this is an age of change, and also of 
improvement. The change proposed in the present 
case is sanctioned by, and somewhat modified from, 
the recommendation of the Committee of the House 



VI.] FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 191 

of Commons on sinecures; which has been already 
noticed. Their first recommendation regarding the 
abolition of marine officers of the navy has just been 
carried into effect, and from the amount of salaries 
abolished, six admirals have received pensions of 
300/. a year each, fourteen captains of 150/. a year, 
and two field-officers of marines of 150/. each. The 
second recommendation will probably be also acted 
upon—it expresses “ the anxious hope of the Com¬ 
mittee that no addition to the number of flag-officers 
in the navy, any more than to that of general officers 
in the army, will in future be made, except on very 
strong grounds of public necessity .” 

In speaking on the subject of his resignation 
with Commissioner Fanshawe, an old acquaintance 
and friend, Lord Howe made no secret of what in¬ 
duced him to quit office. He said he had con¬ 
sented to take the situation along with a party, 
who had pledged themselves to each other, and to 
the public, to economy; but that when he wished 
to carry it into practice, to the utmost possible extent 
compatible with the good of the service, he found 
himself constantly thwarted and opposed. Mr. Pitt, 
he said, stood above all need of support, and made 
no requisitions for naval patronage; but Mr. Henry 
Dundas complained he could never obtain any ap¬ 
pointments from the Admiralty for his Scotch con¬ 
nexions and dependents, and was continually carry¬ 
ing his complaints to Mr. Pitt of Lord Howe’s 


192 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

intractable rigidity in this respect. “ Mr. Pitt,” he 
says, “ talked of economy, but I practised it.” 
Wearied out at length, he requested he might be 
removed, which, after some months* consideration, was 
granted, and Lord Chatham, a landman and a sol¬ 
dier, of a less inflexible character, succeeded to his 
place. 

That Lord Howe was heartily tired of his situation 
at the Admiralty, long before he was allowed to re¬ 
sign, and that the debates in the two houses of Par¬ 
liament, honourable as they were both to his personal 
and professional character, did not tend to abate his 
disgust, there appears to be sufficient proof. In a let¬ 
ter dated Porters, the 27th of July 1788, he says, “ It 
would be unreasonable to dwell now on the subject 
of my resignation. I shall only say that the necessity 
for it was made known, under the circumstances then 
existing, many months since. It would be as little 
to the purpose, were I to form conjectures when, or 
whether any, such idea as I had entertained of an 
appointment similar to that I proposed for you, will 
take place, having no communication now with the 
parties who will have to determine upon it. But I 
hope you never will have reason to think your cha¬ 
racter and conduct not enough in estimation, to secure 
every requisite degree of countenance in your future 
professional pursuits.” 

It has been a subject of discussion among naval 
men whether, as the army has always had a military 


VI.] FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 193 

officer for its Commander-in-chief, the First Lord of 
the Admiralty ought not also to he a professional— 
that is, a naval man. The cases are not parallel— 
the King reserves to himself the command of the 
military forces—he delegates his power over the 
navy to a Lord High Admiral, or Lords Commis¬ 
sioners. It is however one of those questions on 
which “much may be said on both sides.” Naval 
officers in general would naturally enough ask, who 
is the description of person most likely and best qua- 
ified to do justice to those who have had the labour¬ 
ing oar in fighting the battles of the country, in the 
issue of which is involved all that we hold dear? 
And the answer would as naturally be, “ a naval First 
Lordand yet they will find that, on taking a retro¬ 
spect, many bitter complaints have been made from 
their own corps against a purely naval administration, 
on the score of partiality. How indeed can it be ex¬ 
pected that a professional man should be able to divest 
himself of prejudice in favour of those individuals, with 
whom he has associated, sometimes almost exclusively 
for years, in a confined and uninterrupted inter¬ 
course? How can it be expected he should cast 
aside the best feelings of human nature, and disre¬ 
gard those early and ancient friendships, from the 
moment he takes his seat at the head of the Admi¬ 
ralty Board ?—that he should turn aside from these 
companions^ of his early days, who gained laurels by 
his side, who shared with him the dangers “ of the 


o 


194 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

battle and the breeze,” and participated in his plea¬ 
sures? Such are the officers, whether most lit or 
not, who will expect to share, and who will share, 
largely in a naval lord’s patronage. 

Besides, the education of a seaman is not exactly 
such as is suited to fill an important place in the minis¬ 
terial cabinet. The time that is taken up in acquir¬ 
ing that degree of professional skill, and eminence of 
character, which could alone justify the appointment 
to such a situation, almost precludes the acquisition of 
that general knowledge, and of those broad and com¬ 
prehensive views, inseparable from the character of a 
great statesman. Take the list of admirals, as it now 
stands, and let any one ask himself, how many flag- 
officers there are upon it whom, he conceives, the 
minister would deem qualified to fill the office of 
First Lord of the Admiralty ? 

Then, if distinguished success against the enemy 
be allowed to furnish a criterion of good manage¬ 
ment, as it regards good ships and good officers, it 
will be found that the proudest triumphs, the most 
brilliant victories, have been achieved by fleets and 
squadrons, prepared and distributed under the direc¬ 
tion and management of landsmen as First Lords. 
Thus the battle of Rodney with Don Juan de Langara, 
and his splendid victory of the 12th of April 1782; 
the defeat of the French fleet on the 1st of June 
1794; the victories of Cape St. Vincent and of Cam- 
perdown in 1797; of the Nile in 1798; the battle 


VI.] FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 195 

of Copenhagen in 1801; and the total defeat of the 
combined fleets of France and Spain before Tra¬ 
falgar—were all obtained by fleets prepared and com¬ 
manded by officers appointed by First Lords who 
were landsmen. Though Lord St. Vincent actually 
sat at the Board when the battle of Copenhagen 
was fought, the preparations were made under Lord 
Spencers superintendence. It was also a naval lord 
who presided on the 12th of April 1782, yet the 
arrangements and disposition were actually made by 
his able predecessor Lord Sandwich. It was on this 
occasion that Lord North, addressing himself to the 
new ministry in the House of Commons, observed, 
“ It is true you have triumphed, but you fought with 
Philip’s troops.” It must be admitted however that, 
without the assistance of two or three able, honest, 
and judicious naval co-adjutors, no landsman, what¬ 
ever his talents might be, could attempt to carry on 
the numerous duties of this important office. On the 
other hand, a naval First Lord may not always be 
disposed to seek for such assistance. 

As Lord Howe held the situation in time of peace, 
and was not called upon to prepare any sudden arma¬ 
ment, but only to keep up an efficient fleet, the 
only difficulty against which he had to contend was 
the pledge given by ministers, but not strictly ad¬ 
hered to, for the observance of rigid economy, in a 
conscientious compliance with which he found him¬ 
self unable to satisfy the numerous claimants on his 

o 2 


196 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

patronage. This, however, did not appear to dis¬ 
turb the equanimity of his temper; he told every one 
candidly what he could and what he could not do; 
he is said never to have made, and consequently 
never to have broken, a promise—a charge which 
every First Lord of the Admiralty has found it diffi¬ 
cult to escape from. Nor has he ever been accused 
of undue partiality, or of giving his countenance or 
sanction to any measure that could be construed into 
what, in the vulgar tongue, is usually called a job. 
He strenuously resisted all attempts, from whatever 
quarter they came, to make the public service bend 
to private accommodation, of which the following 
may be taken as an instance. Sir Charles Pole being 
appointed, in the Russian armament, to a guard-ship 
at Sheerness, Lord Boringdon as a west country 
friend applied to Lord Howe, when First Lord of 
the Admiralty, to have him removed to one stationed 
at Plymouth, as more convenient by being near to 
his family connexions. “ My lord,” said Howe, “ it 
is the first time I have heard of a private convenience 
spoken about within these walls.” 

But that which appears to have annoyed Lord 
Howe most, was the urgent demand of the minister 
to keep down the navy estimates, when the fleet re¬ 
quired a larger sum to preserve it in an efficient state 
than the government was willing to grant. Thus, 
for the paltry saving of 150,000/. a year, the building 
and repairs of the fleet were restricted; for instance. 


VI.] FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 197 

we find the sum set down for building and repairing 
ships in 1786 to be 800,000/.; in the following year 
it was reduced to 650,000/., making a difference, as 
above stated, of 150,000/. Such parsimony, for it is 
not economy, when applied to such an object, is the 
worst policy that could be pursued. It was that, 
among other things, which drove Lord Howe from the 
helm of naval affairs; and, in later times, it had the 
same effect on one of the ablest, most intelligent, and 
honourable men that ever sat at the head of the 
Board of Admiralty,—Mr. Charles Yorke, who re¬ 
signed his office because the minister would not con¬ 
sent to grant, for naval purposes, what he considered 
necessary to prepare and preserve the fleet in that 
state of efficiency, which the honour and the interests 
of the country demanded. 

A month after Lord Howe’s resignation, on the 
19th of August 1788, his Majesty, in acknowledg¬ 
ment of his many and important services, military as 
well as civil, was pleased to create him an earl of Great 
Britain, by the title of Earl Howe; and at the same 
time bestowed on him the title of Baron of Langar 
in Nottingham, to descend to his eldest daughter and 
her heirs male. 



198 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


CHAPTER VII. 

COMMAND OF THE CHANNEL FLEET. 

Appointment to command in the Channel Soundings—To hoist the 
union at the main, in the Queen Charlotte—State of the Flags— 
The ships and flag-officers under his command—Secret orders from 
the cabinet—Ordered to strike his flag—promises himself the plea¬ 
sures of rural dissipation—On the temporary separation of his 
daughter—Made vice-admiral of England—His mind always in 
the service—Appointed a second time commander-in-chief of the 
Channel fleet—Mast-heading—Puts to sea—Gets sight of the 
French fleet—inferiority of our ships in sailing—partial action of the 
Latona—Fleet returns to port—State of the ships—The blockad¬ 
ing system—Clamour against Lord Howe—Epigram. 


The rapid progress of the French Revolution had 
begun to alarm men’s minds ; and the conduct of 
Spain towards England, regarding Nootka Sound, 
(another affair of about an equal importance with 
that of Falkland Islands) were considered of suffi¬ 
cient moment to demand the preparation of a naval 
armament of considerable extent, to be employed as 
occasion might require. On the 22nd June 1790, 
while Lord Howe was residing with his family in 
Grafton-street, he received a commission from the 
Admiralty, dated the 13th May, appointing him to 
command a squadron of his Majesty’s ships, to be 
employed in the Channel soundings, or wherever his 


VII.] COMMAND OF THE CHANNEL FLEET. 199 

Majesty’s service should require; and this was fol¬ 
lowed by an order to proceed to Portsmouth, and take 
under his command certain ships therein enumerated. 
With this order he immediately complied, and, con¬ 
formably with his Majesty’s command, hoisted the 
Union flag at the main, on board the Queen Char¬ 
lotte of 100 guns. 

This peculiar mark of distinction was conferred 
for the first time since the early part of the century, 
on Earl Howe, and no admiral has after him been 
honoured with that distinguishing mark of approba¬ 
tion for brilliant services, except Lord St. Vincent, 
when he commanded the Channel fleet. It is now, 
in fact, considered as the flag appropriated to the 
admiral of the fleet, who is usually the senior ad¬ 
miral on the list, and who, when he arrives at that 
distinction is, from age and infirmity, seldom if ever 
fit for active service at sea. The last time it ap¬ 
pears to have been hoisted at the main-top-mast¬ 
head, prior to that of Lord Howe, was by Vice- 
Admiral Benbow in 1701; but many officers so late 
as 1714 were allowed occasionally to wear it in dif¬ 
ferent parts of the ship., It is somewhere stated that 
the reason for granting the Union flag to the Lords 
Howe and St. Vincent was, that the seconds in 
command were in the same class of rank; and that 
the same flag at the same mast-head must have 
created confusion. This is quite incorrect; Lord 
Howe was Admiral of the White, seniority 1782, 


200 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

whereas his second. Sir Alexander Hood, was only 
Vice-Admiral of the Blue, seniority 1787. 

It is generally known that, until the early part of 
the present century, the red flag at the main had no 
existence; hut it is not known why the three classes 
of that rank should have been left incomplete. There 
is an idle story, prevalent in the navy, that one of 
the Van Tromps, or De Ruyters, who so often and 
so bravely contested with us the sovereignty of the 
sea, carried off, in one of the actions, our red flag 
of a full admiral; it has even been said that they 
stole it from Sheerness or Chatham, when they 
blocked up the Thames; there is not, however, 
the slightest foundation for either of these stories. 
Whether indeed England ever had a red flag at the 
main, or not, remains at this day an undecided ques¬ 
tion ; as is also that of this colour having only two 
classes, whilst the white and blue squadrons were 
complete. An admiral of the white then held the 
highest rank in the navy, except the admiral of 
the fleet. The battle of Trafalgar, if it did not 
restore, at least contributed mainly to give, to the 
navy the red flag at the main. A new edition 
of the General Instructions w r as then preparing, 
which came out the following year, and in them the 
three ranks of-the three colours were made complete. 
That battle, moreover, having so completely humbled 
the naval powers of France and Spain, suggested to 
the consideration of the Board of Admiralty, with 


VII.] COMMAND OF THE CHANNEL FLEET. 1201 

the approbation of the Government, the omission of 
that arbitrary and offensive article, which required 
naval officers to demand the striking of the flag and 
lowering of the top-sail, from every foreign ship they 
might fall in with. That invidious assumption of a 
right, though submitted to generally by foreigners 
for some centuries, could not probably have been 
maintained much longer, except at the cannon’s 
mouth; arid it was considered therefore that the 
proper time had come when it might, both morally 
and politically, be spontaneously abandoned. 

Towards the end of July, Lord Howe was directed 
to proceed with the ships at Spithead, when ready, 
to Torbay, and there to take under his orders a 
squadron placed under the command of Admiral 
Barrington. By the 17th of August the whole of 
the ships were collected and ready for sea; and on 
the following day he sailed with a fleet, consisting of 
thirty-five sail of the line, nine of which were three- 
deckers, with six flag-officers in command of divi¬ 
sions, namely. Admiral Barrington, Vice-Admiral 
Lord Hood, Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Hood, 
and the three Rear-Admirals Sir John Jervis, Sir 
Richard Bickerton and Hotham. In standing to¬ 
wards Ushant, he received information from three 
different quarters that the Spanish fleet was at sea, 
from twenty-five to thirty sail of the line. From 
the 19th of August to the 12th of September, the 
noble Earl took occasion, whenever the state of the 


202 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

weather would permit, to exercise the fleet with ex¬ 
emplary patience, in naval evolutions: at one time, 
as appears in his private journal, he ordered the 
whole fleet to be repeatedly tacked together; “ but 
neither the distances of the ships from each other, nor 
of the columns, with no more sail abroad than might 
be requisite on service, were properly observed.” 
At another time, he employed the fleet in tacking 
and wearing together, “ that the captains might be 
better able to judge of the proportion of sail neces¬ 
sary for keeping their stations in presence of an 
enemybut, he adds, “ it did not appear that they 
had acquired the facility and correctness in those 
essential movements that is to be desired.” 

No further information was gained of the Spanish 
fleet until the 12th of September, when, having ascer¬ 
tained that they had returned into port, and that the 
embargo which had been laid for some time past was 
taken off, the admiral judged it most expedient for 
the good of the King’s service, and conformably with 
his instructions, to bear up and proceed to Spithead, 
where he anchored his fleet on the 14th of that month. 

Here he received orders to proceed to London, 
where, he says, “ Had a conversation in the King’s 
ante-chamber with Mr. Pitt and Lord Chatham, re¬ 
specting the future appointment of the Channel fleet, 
in case it should be deemed expedient for hostilities 
to be commenced against Spainand on the 30th 
he received a letter from Lord Chatham, conveying 


VII.] COMMAND OF THE CHANNEL FLEET. 203 

the King’s commands to regulate his conduct of the 
fleet, conformably with a cabinet minute enclosed 
therein, notwithstanding any other orders of the same 
date from the Admiralty, and to repair off Ushant; 
but on the 4th of November he received notice from 
Lord Chatham, by express, that the differences with 
Spain were accommodated, and that he was to post¬ 
pone the sailing of the fleet until further orders. 
Those “ further orders,” received towards the end of 
December following, were to “ strike his flag and 
come on shore,” which Lord Howe calls his dismis¬ 
sion. “ I received,” he tells his captain, “ my dis¬ 
mission last night, and you, of course, as I conclude, 
have died with me. I have advised Captain Christian 
(the second captain) of my professional annihilation, 
that he may do the needful on his ships’ books. The 
necessity I am under to be present at St. James’s to¬ 
morrow, on occasion of my dismission from my late 
public appointment, keeps me in town for the parlia¬ 
mentary discussion intended next Monday. And 
though I promise myself to have done with profes¬ 
sional concerns for some length of time, in the enjoy¬ 
ment of rural dissipation, I shall not therefore less 
keep in remembrance the testimonies of regard you 
have shown, in my late situation, to your ever faithful 
servant.” 

One of his daughters was maid of honour to the 
princesses; and in reply to a letter on the subject of 
parting with children, he says, “You reason, my 


204 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH* 

dear Curtis, upon duty of parents to their children 
like an old married man, and you reason justly. But 
Lady Howe’s situation and mine with respect to 
our daughter has not required those efforts of self- 
denial, which a permanent separation would need. 
After the King’s birth-day she will have to enter 
upon a tour of duty with her colleague in office, Lady 
Caroline Waldegrave, at monthly intervals. The 
great goodness she experiences from the royal family 
makes her attendance at all times grateful to her, and 
consequently highly so to us.” 

During the year 1791 Earl Howe was suffered to 
remain unmolested by the cares of office or of naval 
command, “ in the enjoyment of rural dissipation 
but whether engaged in business or pleasure, his 
thoughts and feelings were as irrevocably turned to 
naval concerns as the needle to the pole. From the 
top-gallant-mast-liead, down to the kelson, the con¬ 
struction of the ship, her capacity for stowage, and 
berthing the crew, the nature of her ordnance, her 
masts, yards, sails, and rigging, every part and por¬ 
tion of the machine passes under his review. “ Being 
a fop,” he says in one of his letters, “ of long stand¬ 
ing, with respect to the embellishments of my ship, 
as well as in the regularity and neatness of my men, 
I should receive much pleasure in seeing the Charlotte 
(his favourite ship), in the improved state you de¬ 
scribe.” Even the cut of her sails had not escaped 
his seaman-like eye: he says, “ In my search for a 


VII.] COMMAND OF THE CHANNEL FLEET. 205 

construction and proper fitting of a ship for sailing 
and fighting service, I overlooked the suitable atten¬ 
tion to the figure of the sails. For in looking into a 
minute of the Brunswick’s sails, I perceive a cloth 
narrower in the foot than in those established for the 
larger class of 74-gun ships; whereas I meant to 
have increased the width at the foot, and hollowed the 
leech of the sails.” This is a curious passage, and 
the more worthy of notice, as a fashion has recently 
crept into the navy, to alter all the hollow-leeched 
sails into straight-leeched ones, on pretence that they 
will stand better and belly less, whereas the reverse 
is proved by experiment to be the fact; and as they 
are in other respects objectionable, the old esta¬ 
blished fashion adopted by Lord Howe has been 
resumed. Another instance may.be noticed of the 
attention paid by Howe to the minutiae of the service 
while on shore. It relates to the safety of the men,— 
the landsmen and ordinary principally,—by familiariz¬ 
ing them with a little practice to secure themselves 
upon a yard and to roll up the sail, when in port—that 
is, by hanging a spare topsail yard a few feet above the 
booms, and thus give them confidence, and make them 
acquainted with the management of a sail, before they 
are required to go aloft, and risk their lives in blow¬ 
ing weather. “ This,” he says to his captain, “ you 
will please to look upon as a mere suggestion.” It 
is, how r ever, a suggestion which every humane offi¬ 
cer acted upon towards the latter part of the last war. 


206 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

Lord Howe highly disapproved of the orders for 
drafting men from one ship to the other, leaving their 
old comrades for strange ones, and officers they have 
served under for new ones, with whom they are unac¬ 
quainted. Nelson was most strongly against such a 
practice. He says, “ the disgust of seamen to the 
navy was all owing to the infernal plan of turning 
them over from ship to ship; so that men could not 
he attached to their officers, nor the officers care the 
least about the men.” 

Howe and Nelson, widely different as they were in 
•their moral characters, mostly agreed on points of 
naval service. Both were equally anxious of attach¬ 
ing their men to them; and no mutiny ever happened 
in ships under their command. It was the opinion 
of both that, if a commander knew his own comfort 
and valued his reputation, his first object should be 
to win the affection of those on whom his character 
as well as his success in the service must mainly 
depend. 

About this time he received a long letter from Sir 
Roger Curtis, in which, among other matters, he 
mentions a court-martial about to be held on a some¬ 
what singular occasion. The first lieutenant of the 
Saturn (Lieut. Shields) thought he saw a necessity 
for reprehending the conduct of one of the midship¬ 
men (a mate) of that ship, and ordered him to the 
mast-head by way of punishment. The midshipman 
refused to go up as a punishment , on which the lieu- 


VII.] COMMAND OF THE CHANNEL FLEET. 207 

tenant caused him to he hoisted up, in the doing of 
which the midshipman is said to have received an 
injury on his ribs. These circumstances soon became 
known throughout the fleet. The midshipmen take 
the alarm—call the conduct of the lieutenant tyran¬ 
nical and oppressive—conceive the honour of their 
corps violated and disgraced; and circular letters are 
sent to all the ships, inviting the midshipmen to unite 
in support of the common cause. A Mr. Moore, 
belonging to the London, is the person to be tried for 
being the author of one of these letters. “ I never 
thought,” says Sir Roger, “ a due subordination in 
the service, and its discipline, could be maintained by 
publicly exposing any class of officers to ridicule and 
public disgrace ; and more particularly if the officer, 
so exposed, was to return afterwards to the exercise 
of the functions of his office, amongst the same men 
who had the hour before beheld him exhibited as a 
eulprit. ,, 

On this statement Lord Howe observes, “ The in¬ 
cident that has given occasion for the court-martial is 
singular enough. It seems right to try the midship¬ 
man who summoned a confederation of the discon¬ 
tented, for supporting the consequence and interests 
of his corps; but I thought the long exploded usage 
of sending negligent midshipmen to do penance at 
the mast-head had grown into the discredit and disuse 
it merited.” 

Mr. Moore was tried by court-martial, found 


208 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

guilty, and in consequence of the very excellent cha¬ 
racter given him by several officers, was adjudged, 
only to be imprisoned for the space of one calendar 
month in the Marshalsea, and to be severely repri¬ 
manded. Mr. Leonard of the Saturn, the midship¬ 
man mast-headed, demanded a court-martial on Lieu¬ 
tenant Shields for tyranny and oppression, but a court 
of inquiry only was held, which found no tyranny and 
oppression, but, on the contrary, that the general tenor 
of Lieutenant Shields’ conduct was the very reverse of 
tyrannical and oppressive, and that the midshipman 
had been guilty of neglect and disobedience. 

Lord Howe, always kind and considerate to the 
younger officers particularly, was notwithstanding a 
strict disciplinarian; but though he would have ap¬ 
proved of inquiry by court-martial into the conduct 
of Mr. Moore, yet, from the observation made in reply 
to Sir Roger Curtis, it can hardly be doubted that, 
had his flag been flying, he would have strongly re¬ 
commended the abolition of so degrading a practice. 
It continued however till the other day, when, in con¬ 
sequence of one or two cases—one of a singular and 
aggravating nature, inflicted on a young gentleman 
not in the service,—the present Board of Admiralty 
greatly to its credit put an end to so degrading a 
practice, by circular orders to the fleet for its discon¬ 
tinuance. 

During the year 1792, the noble Earl was per¬ 
mitted to remain on shore. On the death of Lord 


VII.] COMMAND OF THE CHANNEL FLEET. 209 

Rodney in May of that year, he was appointed to 
succeed him as Vice-Admiral of England, an honorary 
situation with which he appears to have been highly 
gratified. He complains in many of his letters about 
this time of being much afflicted with the gout. 
“ My head and stomach,” he says, “ have not been so 
free lately as I could wish from those symptoms of 
gouty infirmity, which have not been unusual in their 
appearance towards the fall of the year. Recourse 
to Bath waters will determine, whether the almost 
annual return of that troublesome complaint is to 
take place about the termination of the present, or 
commencement of the ensuing year.” 

From one of Earl Howe’s letters, dated the 23rd 
of June of this year, w T e may learn the folly of attri¬ 
buting, from a series of unseasonable weather, such 
as we are experiencing at the end of May 1837, an 
alteration in the seasons for the worse. He says, 
“ Every day the year advances, we may naturally 
expect we are approaching nearer to the summer 
season. But we have not seemed hitherto to have 
made any progress towards that favourable change; 
the wet and winter blasts being scarcely discontinued, 
for two days together, in the last two months. It is 
to be hoped nevertheless that, in proportion as it has 
been cold and tempestuous, whilst you have remained 
in port, you will find the weather grateful in all re¬ 
spects when you are at sea.” 

In December 1792, his correspondence betrays 

p 


210 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

strong symptoms of being once more ere long called 
upon for active service. He talks of the lieutenants 
to be employed, and enumerates the midshipmen by 
name who are well qualified, and “ who have been a 
little accustomed to our peculiarities.’’ Davis (his 
old secretary) is not to be refused, if the state of his 
health is truly consistent with the undertaking; “ but 
it would go to my heart,” he says, “ to see him lan¬ 
guishing under fatigue or infirmities, to which he is 
no less liable to be affected than myself.” 

Accordingly, soon after this, namely, on the 6th of 
February 1793, we find the following entry in his 
private journal:—“ Attended at St. James’s to kiss 
the king’s hand on my appointment, by commission, 
dated the 1st of this month, to be Admiral and Com¬ 
mander-in-chief of the fleet, for the time being, em¬ 
ployed, and to be employed, in Channel soundings, 
&c., with the usual clause added, as in the commis¬ 
sion of admiral of the fleet, authorizing the removal 
and appointment of officers in case of disability or 
neglect. A commission was at the same time issued, 
appointing the Captain Sir Roger Curtis to be my 
first captain, and Captain Christian was re-appointed 
to the Queen Charlotte, in which I am to embark.” 
The flag-officers proposed, at this time, to serve in 
the Channel fleet were, the Vice-Admirals Graves 
and Sir Alexander Hood, second and third in com¬ 
mand ; and his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence, 
rear-admiral of the red; but no particular ships ap- 


VII.] COMMAND OF THE CHANNEL FLEET. 211 

propriated to constitute the fleet to be so employed. 
The Duke of Clarence did not join. 

It was not till the 27th of May that Lord Howe 
was ordered to proceed to Portsmouth, to take the 
command of certain ships there, hoisting the union 
flag on board the Queen Charlotte. On the 1st of 
July he received his secret instructions, in which he 
was directed to protect the trade of the king’s sub¬ 
jects, and molest the ships of war and trade of the 
enemy: he was informed that intelligence had been 
received of eight or nine ships having sailed from 
Brest, in order to join five more from L’Orient and 
Rochfort, and that his immediate attention was to be 
directed to the prevention of their return to Brest, 
or of forming a junction with any other ships from 
thence; and he was instructed to cause accurate obser¬ 
vations to be made, and the best intelligence obtained, 
of the force collecting at Brest, and to regulate his 
conduct accordingly, with due regard to the security 
of Great Britain and Ireland, which was always to 
be considered a very material object of his atten¬ 
tion ; and, not receiving any further orders, to return 
to Torbay in a month from the time of sailing; but to 
be at liberty to prolong his stay at sea, on gaining in¬ 
telligence that may render such continuance advisable. 

On the 14th of July he put to sea from St. Helens, 
with twenty-three sail of the line, in two divisions, 
under the Vice-Admirals Graves and Sir Alexander 
Hood; but before he got out of the Channel the 

p 2 


212 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CII. 

weather became so boisterous, with rain and fog, that 
he deemed it expedient to bear up and anchor in 
Torbay, as the most eligible position for putting again 
to sea, as soon as the weather resumed any settled 
aspect. Here he received information from an Ame¬ 
rican vessel, that she had passed the French squad¬ 
ron, consisting of seventeen ships of the line, ten 
leagues to the westward of Bellisle. He immediately 
put to sea, and arrived nearly in the latitude of Bell- 
isle on the morning of the 31st of July; and stand¬ 
ing towards the land, got sight of the enemy’s fleet, 
their topsails appearing just above the horizon from 
the mast-head. At sunset they were seen from the 
mast-head half their courses down, appearing to con¬ 
sist of fifteen sail of the line, with two frigates. The 
next day, it being light winds, and at noon almost 
calm, seventeen sail were seen, and a greater number 
later in the day, keeping nearly at the same distance, 
and too far off* for any correct estimate to be made of 
their force. Every endeavour was made to approach 
nearer to the enemy, many of whose ships towards 
noon were so far advanced upon, as to be seen from 
the deck. 

In the morning of the 2nd of August none of the 
enemy’s ships were in sight. The fleet kept cruising 
well in with the land for several days, as most likely 
to intercept the enemy, while the frigates Avere sent 
away to reconnoitre, and on the 10th the fleet ap¬ 
proached the coast near Brest, with the intention of 


VII.] COMMAND OF THE CHANNEL FLEET. 213 

looking into that port, conformable with the instruc¬ 
tions ; but the wind became so boisterous that some of 
the ships, having sprung their masts, and others having 
their sails split. Lord Howe deemed it expedient to 
bear up for Torbay. His attention was here called, 
by letter of the 14th from the Admiralty, to three 
points: first, advising him of the time the Jamaica 
convoy was to sail from that island; second, when 
the Lisbon convoy was expected to sail; and third, 
notice of a large French convoy, with several ships of 
war, to sail from the American ports for France. 

On the 23rd he again put to sea, and, meeting with 
a number of ships that had separated from the ex¬ 
pected convoys, detached several frigates to see them 
safely to their respective ports ; and having next pro¬ 
vided for the protection of such of the Jamaica trade 
as had not passed up Channel, by laying-to in their 
direct course, he returned with the fleet on the 4th of 
September to Torbay. On the 28th he again put to 
sea, but meeting with thick and blowing weather from 
the south-west, by which the heavier sailing ships 
would probably be separated and driven up Channel, 
he put back to Torbay; and as he here received in¬ 
formation of the two convoys from the West Indies 
having passed, he waited, by orders of the Admi¬ 
ralty, the arrival of two or three ships of the line, 
which were to join him from the eastern ports. 

During the month of November the fleet made 
several ineffectual attempts to get permanently beyond 
the Lizard; in doing so the main-top-mast of one 


214 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


ship, and the main-yard of another, were sprung, and 
the fore-yard of a third carried away in the slings. 
The violence of the westerly gales, with a heavy sea, 
continued without intermission till the 11th of No¬ 
vember, when the wind becoming more northerly and 
moderate, the fleet proceeded to cruize to the west¬ 
ward; and on the 18th six sail of the line and two 
frigates of the enemy were seen and chased, hut the 
headmost and best sailers of our fleet had so little 
chance to come up with them, that they were soon lost 
sight of altogether. Two of Lord Howe’s line-of-battle 
ships in this useless pursuit each sprung a top-mast. 

The inferiority in the sailing of our ships with 
those of the French was here most apparent. The 
latter having approached within a certain distance for 
the purpose of reconnoitring our fleet, “ they then,” 
Lord Howe says, “ made off with all the sail they 
could bear with a very fresh wind, with whole top-sails 
and top-gallant sails set, while double-reefed top¬ 
sails and top-gallant sails were as much as almost any 
of the British ships could well carry against the swell. 
They were followed on the different tacks they 
changed to, as the veering of the wind a point or two 
either way at times would best favour their increase 
of distance, during the whole day; and in the night, 
on the larboard tack solely. The Latona, Captain 
Thornborough, was the only ship that gained very 
fast ahead of them, and passed, under a repeated fire 
from three or four of their capital ships, along their 
line, with the view of getting a station for leading the 


VII.] COMMAND OF THE CHANNEL FLEET. 215 

advanced ships up to them; and firing upon them, 
at times, to cut their rigging, up to the close of day.” 
It was afterwards ascertained, that several men in a 
frigate and two line-of-battle ships were killed and 
wounded by the fire of the Latona. Lord Howe on 
this occasion bestowed high praise on the spirited 
conduct of Captain Thornborough, of which the 
Lords of the Admiralty expressed their approbation. 

On the 25th, the master of a Danish vessel re¬ 
ported that he had been stopped by a French ship, 
which was one of five sail of the line that had 
been out about ten days, and which, at the end of 
fifteen days, were to be relieved by the same number 
of others. The fleet continued cruizing in the direc¬ 
tion pointed out till the 10th of December, encoun¬ 
tering constant gales of wind, and a heavy swell of 
the sea, in the course of which time half the ships at 
least had received considerable damage; and, as 
nothing more was seen or heard of the French 
squadron, the fleet bore up for Torbay, where in¬ 
structions were received as to the manner in which 
they were to be disposed of, for the purpose of being 
refitted,—eight sail of the line and three frigates to 
proceed to Plymouth, and ten sail of the line and 
two frigates to Portsmouth. 

The crippled state of this fleet, which, from the 
middle of July to the middle of December, had been 
constantly at sea, except when occasionally obliged 
to take refuge in Torbay, proves one of three things; 
—either that the ships were ill fitted and provided,— 


216 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

or ill navigated;—or, admitting neither of these, that 
it was extreme folly to keep them at sea, in the mouth 
of the Channel and Bay of Biscay, in the autumnal 
and winter gales, which invariably happen in these 
situations. His Lordship says, “ Other ships of war 
seem unavoidably necessary for the Channel fleet, to 
replace those returned with Christian; and, indeed, 
it seems that some most serious inattention has hap¬ 
pened in respect to the state of repair of the fleet, 
preceding the commencement of the war; for I know 
not how to believe that the number which have been 
disabled would otherwise have suffered so much as we 
have seen this year; and to make other drafts upon 
the better conditioned ships w T ill very much protract 
the time when any respectable force can be assem¬ 
bled for our home defence : so that our strength will 
solely exist in the weakness of our enemy.” 

Lord Howe, in his private correspondence with 
Lord Chatham, shows a decided disapprobation of the 
whole system (which was then, and afterwards, to a 
much more extensive degree persevered in) of block¬ 
ading the enemy’s ports. To keep a fleet at sea, 
vratching an enemy’s fleet lying snugly in port, and 
ready to start the moment the weather has driven 
the blockading squadron from the coast, and probably 
disabled many of them, appears to be a mistaken sys¬ 
tem, and ruinous in the extreme to the ships them¬ 
selves, as well as hateful to the seamen, besides being 
extravagant beyond measure in point of expense. 
Nothing annoyed Nelson more than the long blockade 


VII.] COMMAND OF THE CHANNEL FLEET. 217 

of Toulon, the boisterous weather tearing his ships 
to pieces ; in thirty months he left his ship but three 
times, for about an hour each time. But in his reply 
to a vote of thanks from the City of London for his 
perseverance, he says, <f I beg to inform your Lordship 
that the port of Toulon lias never been blockaded by 
me ; quite the reverse.” Lie only called it watching 
the enemy, offering them, at the same time, every 
opportunity to put to sea. Lord St. Vincent followed, 
as no doubt he was desired to do, a different system 
from that of Lord Howe. He persevered in contin¬ 
uing the blockade of Brest, summer and winter, in all 
kinds of weather without sparing himself, having once 
kept the sea off Brest for one hundred and three days, 
without coming into port. The consequence of this 
was that, when the late Lord Melville succeeded 
to the head of naval affairs, he found a fleet of worn- 
out ships, utterly inadequate to meet the combined 
fleets of France and Spain; but by doubling and 
cross-bracing, and patching them up, a fleet was, 
with great exertion, got together, which under Nelson 
fought and conquered at Trafalgar. It was on 
account of the crippled state of our ships that it was 
found absolutely necessary to have recourse to the 
merchants’ yards for the building of a certain num¬ 
ber of 74-gun ships which, though ridiculed as the 
“ forty thieves,” turned out much better than there 
was any reason to expect. What Lord Howe recom¬ 
mended was this—to keep a fleet at St. Helens, 
greater or less as circumstances might require, with 


218 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

a few detached frigates to gain information of any 
movements in the opposite ports of the Channel coast 
of France—ready, in case of emergency, to put to sea 
at the shortest notice;—to station the grand fleet, 
with a suitable number of frigates, in Torbay, con¬ 
stantly kept in good order, and ready in all respects 
to start in the event of the enemy’s fleet from Brest 
putting to sea: the two contending fleets might then 
engage on something like equal terms, as to their 
state and condition, each of them fresh from their 
respective ports; whereas a blockading squadron, 
keeping the sea for months without being relieved, 
and exposed to all kinds of weather, ought not to be 
considered on a par with an enemy of equal force 
fresh from a port, and still less in a condition to fol¬ 
low them, perhaps to a foreign station—to say nothing 
of the annoying and disheartening situation to both 
officers and men, that such a service naturally occa¬ 
sions. 

The public are little alive to, because they are not 
much acquainted with, matters of this kind; they judge 
only by the result; and if they hear not of a battle 
and a victory, are apt to become dissatisfied, and to 
conclude that, as nothing of the kind has taken place, 
blame must rest somewhere, and where can it be more 
appropriately fixed than on the shoulders of the com¬ 
mander-in-chief? The mercantile interests are satis¬ 
fied so long as their commerce is protected: when 
the enemy is blocked up in their harbours, and the 
convoys, stored with valuable cargoes, are conducted 


VII.] COMMAND OF THE CHANNEL FLEET. 219 

safely into the ports of the United Kingdom, no com¬ 
plaint is heard from them; hut the public at large, 
in time of war, require a stimulus of another kind. 
They pay, by the war taxes necessarily imposed, the 
expense of keeping up the required armaments, and 
they look for remuneration in the destruction of the 
enemy, and are exceedingly impatient at any delay in 
bringing about such a catastrophe. 

Such was the clamour that prevailed in the year 
1793 among all ranks and descriptions of men. 
It was enough that the French fleet was known 
to be at sea; that it was several times seen by Lord 
Howe, and yet no captures were made, no battle 
had been fought; and one reason assigned was, that 
the fleet was constantly coming into Torbay, instead 
of keeping the sea. The public prints of the day, 
ignorant altogether of the policy of the conduct pur¬ 
sued by Earl Howe, and equally so of the object of 
it, were exceedingly and offensively scurrilous against 
the British admiral, sometimes gravely or ridicu¬ 
lously critical, at other times sarcastic. But Lord 
Howe was not a man to pay much regard to attacks 
of this kind. His great object was to save the wear 
and tear of his ships, to keep them well provisioned, 
and to preserve the health and good humour of the 
men, while the practice of moving about improved 
their seamanship, and the discipline of the fleet. He 
pursued steadily the line of conduct which he deemed 
most conducive to the end proposed, and the govern¬ 
ment were too fully experienced in his former ser- 


220 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

vices, and the high character he maintained in the 
navy, as the most accomplished commander of the 
day, to refuse him their entire confidence. As to the 
rest, his Lordship might very well content himself 
with the maxim of Swift, that “ censure is a tax 
which a man pays to the public for being eminent.” 

Among the sneers and squibs of the day, the fol¬ 
lowing epigram was handed about as something clever, 
though not very remarkable either for its point or ver¬ 
sification :— 

Cum Caesar Romae Gallos devicerat hostes, 

Verba tria enarrant fortia facta ducis. 

Howe sua nunc brevius verbo complectitur uno, 

Et “ vidi ” nobis omnia gesta refert. 

When Caesar had the Roman foe subdued, 

He told in three short words the deed was done; 

Howe , with more silent modesty endued. 

Relates concisely what he “ saw ” in one. 

But the laurels which adorned the brows of the 
veteran hero, planted there in his more youthful days, 
were too deeply rooted to be hastily torn away by 
the rude or wanton hands of ignorant scribblers. 
Mr. Pitt,—without whom Lord Chatham took no im¬ 
portant step in his office of Admiralty,—a statesman 
not easily born down by clamour, would not listen 
for a moment to Howe’s retirement from the service, 
when he pleaded his infirmities and advancing age. 
The sequel of his command of the Channel fleet 
proved how little the public outcry was justified by 
such ignorant attacks on his character, and also how 
well Mr. Pitt knew to appreciate it. 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 


221 


CHAPTER VIII. 

THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 

List of the Channel fleet under Lord Howe—Engages Bowen as 
master—Sails—Takes and destroys several prizes—Extract of Lord 
Howe’s private journal from the 28th of May to the 1st of June, both 
inclusive—Arrival of the fleet with the captured ships—Return of 
killed, wounded, and prisoners—Second Gazette account of officers 
who distinguished themselves—Offence taken by those not men¬ 
tioned—not intended by Lord Howe to be made public—Captain 
Molloy asks for a court-martial—Dismissed from command of the 
Caesar—Collingwood’s name omitted—Brought forward after Sir 
John Jervis’ action off Cape St. Vincent—His “ spiteful satisfaction” 
in making an unfavourable comparison between this action and that 
of 1st of June—Howe’s estimate of Jervis’ action—Howe’s corre¬ 
spondence with Lord Chatham respecting the publication of officers’ 
names—His unwillingness to consent to it, and reasons why—Lord 
St. Vincent’s suppression of Nelson’s name—The question of the 
enemy’s disabled ships being suffered to escape—Opinions of flag- 
officers now living—The King’s visit to Portsmouth—Promotions, 
honours, &c.—Lord Howe receives the thanks of both Houses of 
Parliament—The King’s letter to Mrs. Howe and her reply—Va¬ 
rious anecdotes respecting the battle of 1st of June—the Marl¬ 
borough, Brunswick, Audacious, Defence, &c.—Lady Mary Howe’s 
letter to her sister Lady Altamont. 

It was not before the middle of April 1794, that 
the ships composing the Channel fleet had received 
the requisite repairs, and had assembled at St. Helens. 
This fleet now consisted of thirty-two sail of the line, 
of which six, besides four frigates, were placed under 


222 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

the orders of Rear-Admiral Montague to attend the 
several outward-bound convoys, and East India Com¬ 
pany’s ships; leaving twenty-two sail of the line and 
six frigates under the immediate command of Lord 
Howe; and to these were attached the two admirals. 
Sir Alexander Hood and Graves, and the four rear- 
admirals, Pasley, Caldwell, Bowyer, and Gardner. 

As one of the officers in the fleet we may here in¬ 
troduce a very important personage, Mr. James Bowen, 
the master of the Queen Charlotte. In a letter to 
Lord Chatham, Lord Howe says, “ Though I don’t 
know that the letter I now trouble you with is at all 
necessary respecting the purpose for which it is writ¬ 
ten, yet as it regards the interests of a very deserving 
officer, who is apprehensive of being a sufferer in conse¬ 
quence of his readiness to leave a quiet and profitable, 
to engage in a laborious and active, station in the fleet; 
I trust that no other apology will be requisite to jus¬ 
tify the mention of the circumstance at this time. Mr. 
Bowen, the master of this ship, whose merits I believe 
have been noticed to your Lordship by the Comptrol¬ 
ler, was employed by the Navy Board, as their agent 
in the army transport business, an office deemed both 
advantageous and permanent, and in the discharge of 
which he gave the greatest satisfaction. 

“ Upon my being nominated to the command of 
the Channel fleet, he made an offer of his services 
for the important station he now occupies in the fleet; 
in the hope he would not be deemed thereby to for- 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 223 

feit his pretensions to be reinstated in his civil 
employment, when his continuance with the fleet 
becomes no longer needful.’ , And he adds, “ If there 
he any obstacle to this, I must forego the advantage 
I derive from his peculiar knowledge of the Channel 
navigation, and other services in the fleet, and part 
with him that he may not lose the durable advantage 
of the employment he covets to retain.” Bowen, as 
will be seen hereafter, had the good fortune to render 
his return to the transport service quite unnecessary. 

On the 2nd of May the fleet (enumerated in the 
next page) and convoys put to sea; and on the 4th 
Lord Howe, having advanced with the several convoys 
as far as the Lizard, and the wind being favourable for 
their further passage into the sea, detached Rear-Ad¬ 
miral Montague, with the following six ships of the 
line (the Hector, Arrogant, Theseus, Ganges, Bellona, 
Alexander) and four frigates (Pallas, Hebe, Venus, 
Circe), to attend the convoys into the parallel of Cape 
Finisterre, under secret instructions. The remainder 
of the fleet then proceeded for Ushant. In the even¬ 
ing of the same day three frigates were discovered 
outside the western entrance into Brest. The Latona 
and the Phaeton frigates, supported by the Orion, 
had been sent in the morning into the western pas¬ 
sage, and reported that “ one ship of the line, with 
two frigates and two brigs, were discovered at anchor 
in Camaret Bay; and twenty-two large ships, sup¬ 
posed to he of the line, were clearly seen within the 


224 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE 


[CH 


A List of the Ships and their Commanders , together with the Flag-Officers 
composing the Channel Fleet under Admiral Earl Howe as Commander- 
in-chief which put to sea on the 2nd of May 1794. 


Captains. Guns. Men. 

1. Caesar .Molloy. 80..730' 

2. Bellerophon ..Hope. 74. .617 

3. Leviathan... .Ld. H. Seymour Conway 74. .650 

4. Russell.Payne. 74..600 

5. Marlborough . Hon. G. Berkeley.. 74. .600 


Divisional Commanders. 

R. Adml. Pasley, 
c/3 R. of White. 

c- 
p 

3 * 

o 

S 

6. Sovereign ... .Nicholls.100. .872 ^ Admiral Graves, 

7. Audacious.... Parker. 74..600 5 Ad. of White. 

8. Defence.Gambier. 74..600 Sr- 

9. Impregnable..Westcot. 90..767' 

[10. Tremendous . .Pigot. 74. .600 


§ R. Ad. Caldwell, 
V. of White. 


njR. Adi. Bowyer, 
V. of Red. 


XVII. 


O 


° £ G 


Invincible ... .Hon. T. Pakenham 74..600 

Barfleur ..... Collingwood. 90. .767 

Arrogant.Whitshed. 74. .600 

, Culloden.Schomberg. 74..600 

Theseus.Calder. 74..600 

Gibraltar.Mackenzie . 80..650^ 

TheCharlottej ... 100.. 900... Comdr.-in-Chief. 

Brunswick ... John Hervey. 74..650\ 

Valiant.Pringle. 74.. 650 

Orion.Duckworth .. 74..600 

Queen.Nott. 90..767 

Ganges.Trescott ... 74..600 


5- R. Adi. Gardner, 
§ V. of Blue. 


Ramillies ....H. Harvey.. 74..600 

Bellona ......Wilson. 74..600 

Alfred.Bazeley. 74. .600\2. 

Royal George .Domett.100..872/S Adi. Sir A. Hood, 

Montagu.Montagu. 74. .600 


Majestic.Cotton . 74..600 

Glory.Elphinstone . 90..750 

Hector.Halsted.74..617 

Alexander.... Bligh. 74.. 600 

Thunderer ...Bertie. 74..600/ 


K.B. 


g. R.Ad.Montague. 


FRIGATES, &c. 

Latona.Captain Thornborough. 

Niger (repeating van).Captain the Hon. A. K. Legge. 

Venus .Captain Brown. 

Hebe ..Captain A. Hood. 

Pallas. 

Aquilon (repeating rear).Captain the Hon. R. Stopford. 

Phaeton. Captain Bentinck. 

Southampton.Captain the Hon. R. Forbes. 

Pegasus (repeating centre).Captain Barlow. 

Circe. Comet, Tr. ship. Charon, H. S. 



























































VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 225 

Goulet, with a considerable number of smaller ves¬ 
sels.” The fleet continued cruizing in foggy and 
blowing weather, keeping nearly in the parallel of 
Ushant, and to the southward of it, to look out for the 
expected French convoy from America; and on the 
19th, being close in with Ushant, the admiral ordered 
the Latona and Phaeton, covered by the Leviathan and 
Ceesar, into the Trone passage to look into Brest, 
when it was discovered that the enemy’s fleet had put 
to sea; and by an American vessel just out of Brest, 
it was reported to Lord Hugh Seymour that they had 
sailed on the 17th, consisting of twenty-four ships of 
the line and ten frigates; their intention being to 
give protection to their immensely large and valu¬ 
able homeward-bound convoy from North America 
and the West Indies. 

On the 25th, after a fruitless search for the 
enemy, two French corvettes were observed steer¬ 
ing after the fleet, on the supposition, as afterwards 
appeared, that it was their own. They were 
both taken; the Republicain, 18 guns and 120 
men, and the Inconnu, 12 guns and 136 men, 
both from Brest, and in search of their own fleet. 
These and several other prizes and re-captures were 
ordered by Lord Howe to be destroyed, as no ar¬ 
rangement could be made at the time for sending 
them into any port, without diminishing the efficiency 
of his fleet with regard to frigates. The admiral then 
stood under easy sail to the northward, conformably 

Q 


226 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


with the inference deduced from the latest intelligence 
of the probable situation of the enemy’s fleet, whose 
principal station was supposed to be somewhere 
between the parallels of 45° and 47° 3(7. On the 
morning of the 28th May, several French ships were 
discovered by the advanced frigates very far distant 
in the south-east, the wind then blowing fresh from 
the south by west, with a rough sea. 

As we are now approaching the most splendid and 
important service of the many which the noble Earl 
had accomplished, in the course of a long and success¬ 
ful career, and as the Gazette accounts of the battle 
about to be noticed, and indeed of most battles, 
whether naval or military, are but brief sketches of 
occurrences; and moreover as naval men, on the pre¬ 
sent occasion, may not be displeased to have the whole 
transactions of the three days, the 28th and 29th of 
May and the 1st of June, before them, as they are 
recorded by the commander-in-chief in his private 
journal, written with his own hand, it has been 
deemed proper and fitting to give so valuable a docu¬ 
ment a place in this memoir of his life entire, without 
addition or alteration. Of the engagement itself little 
in addition need be said, after the minute and circum¬ 
stantial detail entered into by Mr. James, the inde¬ 
fatigable and accurate historian of naval actions. 

“ May 28 th. They (the enemy’s fleet) were some 
hours before they had formed their line on the lar¬ 
board tack, which they proceeded to do, while at 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 227 

three or four leagues distant: the British fleet keep¬ 
ing in the order of sailing, with the advanced squad¬ 
ron under Rear-Admiral Pasley on the weather 
quarter of the body of the fleet, the whole under as 
much sail as the weather would safely admit, stand¬ 
ing to the eastward by the wind. At eleven in the 
morning tacked to approach nearer to the enemy, the 
centre of their fleet then in the south-south-west. At 
four in the evening tacked back to the eastward. 
Soon after five o’clock the Bellerophon arriving up 
abreast of the rear ship of the enemy, the Revolu- 
tionaire of three decks, though too far distant to lee¬ 
ward for close action, began to fire upon her, and 
received the fire from that ship and some others 
ahead of her. But observing that the other ships of 
the advanced squadron, the Russell, Marlborough, 
and Thunderer, though gained more to windward of 
the enemy, had shortened sail, and the two last backed 
their main-top-sails, and firing at the enemy, from a 
distance far too considerable, their particular signals 
were made (No. 29) to attack the enemy’s rear; and 
soon after the general signal to the same effect. The 
Bellerophon having her main-top-sail lowered and 
aback, and making the signal to denote that her 
main-top-mast was disabled, the other ships also of 
the advanced squadron still keeping astern with 
little sail set, and firing far distant, the general signal 
was made (No. 12) for assisting ships in action; and 
a few minutes after (about 7 h 25') the particular sig- 

q 2 


228 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

nals for the Russell and Marlborough for the same 
purpose; enforcing it with a gun to obtain the notice 
which was not duly shown to the former signals. 
The three aforementioned ships thereupon made sail 
to the eastward, the Marlborough being observed to 
have set her courses; and the Leviathan, pressing 
forward, commenced action with the rear ship of the 
enemy, to the relief of the Bellerophon. As the day 
was closing in, the Audacious was seen to advance 
to the attack of the Revolutionaire, in apparent very 
close action. 

“ The body of the enemy’s fleet keeping on in order 
of battle, and being approached to about three miles 
distant from them, their force consisting of twenty- 
six ships of the line, besides frigates, it was judged 
requisite to form the British fleet in such order of 
battle ahead, as the ships, by their accidental situa¬ 
tion at the time, could be so arranged ahead and 
astern of the Charlotte, to be in suitable disposition 
for any service which might occur in the night; 
nothing more of the action being distinguishable, and 
the firing ceasing in the rear soon after dark. Infor¬ 
mation was given by the Marlborough and Niger 
that the sternmost ship of the enemy was beaten out 
of the line by, and supposed to have struck to, the 
Audacious. 

(( May 29th. Frigates having been appointed to 
watch the enemy’s motions during the night, the two 
fleets were much in the same relative situation at the 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 


229 


opening of this day; and another ship of the line, 
making their number twenty-six, was seen to join 
the enemy’s fleet in the morning. The Audacious 
not being present, it was concluded that she had 
parted in attendance on the Revolutionaire. 

“ The wind continued still very fresh in the south- 
south-west, with a considerable degree of head-sea 
from the southward. The fleet, being far enough 
advanced soon after daybreak, was put upon the lar¬ 
board tack, in the prospect of being able to pass near 
enough for some good effect on the enemy’s rear; 
and some random shot were fired on either part, as 
the van ships passed astern of the enemy. The 
French wore thereupon in their van, in succession, 
and coming away large in the same manner about 
ten o’clock hauled to the wind, in the same suc¬ 
cession, and opened their fire on the Csesar, Queen, 
Russell, and other the headmost ships of the fleet, 
though at a considerable distance; the purpose of the 
enemy therein being, obviously, to direct an accumu¬ 
lated fire upon, and to disable, the van of the fleet 
exclusively. The centre of the British fleet drawing 
fast up with the van, the signal was repeatedly made 
for the Ceesar leading the line, and then under treble- 
reefed topsails and fore-sail , to make more sail. In 
letting the third reef out, her main-top-sail split, and 
it became necessary to bend another. But as she 
did not set her main-sail, as far as it could be ob¬ 
served, the centre and rear of the fleet, in the order 


230 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

of battle then subsisting, were obliged to shorten sail; 
and the Charlotte dropped to leeward for want of 
sufficient head-way. The Leviathan was obliged to 
bring-to for a short time for the same reason. 

“ The enemy continuing their former movement of 
edging down to random shot distance from the fleet, 
and then hauling their wind and firing as they drew 
ahead, it became indispensably necessary to disen¬ 
gage the van from such prejudicial fire ; and it w T as 
deemed proper to tack the fleet in succession on the 
then apparent opportunity of fetching through some 
part of the enemy’s line, to windward. The signals 
were made about noon for these purposes, and re¬ 
peated as it became requisite for due notice thereof, 
at intervals of intermission of the exchanged fire from 
the van of the two fleets, for passing through the 
enemy’s line accordingly. 

“ Soon after one, it was observed that the Caesar 
was about on the starboard tack; and the Queen, 
Orion, and Invincible, were come to that tack also, 
after her. But seeing the Caesar coming away from 
the Avind on a parallel with, the centre and rear of the 
fleet, under treble-reefed top-sails and fore-sail only, 
instead of keeping the wind; and that the Queen, 
when arrived on the beam of the Charlotte, by the 
wind as it seemed, with intention to push through the 
enemy’s line, in which she could be most speedily 
supported by such movement, the Charlotte (the 
tenth ship from the van of the fleet) was immediately 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 231 

tacked, and the main-sail being then set, she passed 
through with a continued fire on each side, while 
crossing the enemy’s ships, between the fifth and 
sixth ships of the enemy’s rear. When through the 
line, she was put on the former tack for assuming a 
suitable position to renew the action from to windward. 
But having been followed only by the Bellerophon, 
her second astern as the line had been on that occa¬ 
sion formed, though soon after joined by the Levia¬ 
than, which passed ahead of the two or three last 
ships (which had been considerably damaged in their 
masts and rigging the preceding day), no advantage 
could be immediately taken from this change of posi¬ 
tion. The rest of the fleet had passed with the 
Caesar, along the enemy’s line; and tacking astern 
thereof, were too far distant when they had regained 
the Charlotte’s wake, for giving her any early sup¬ 
port. The enemy, while the fleet were under these 
circumstances, wore in succession as before, for giv¬ 
ing protection to three much disabled ships in the 
rear, and succeeded therein: the distant and dis¬ 
persed state of the British fleet not admitting of any 
adequate steps to be taken for preventing them in 
that object. 

“ The ships of the fleet (called up by different sig¬ 
nals, and finally appointed to form in line, ahead and 
astern of the Charlotte as most convenient,) came 
forward to meet the Queen Charlotte, which had 
stood towards them, as the enemy approached. When 


232 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


arrived, they came up so crowded together, as af¬ 
forded an opportunity for the enemy to have fired 
upon them with great advantage. But, having co¬ 
vered their disabled ships, and giving a distant fire as 
they passed to leeward of the fleet, they wore again 
to the westward; and the fleet preserving the weather 
gage, kept on after them upon the larboard tack. 

“ Most of the time the Charlotte was engaged, a 
considerable quantity of water was taken in at the 
lower-deck ports; and the pumps at work constantly. 

“ May 30 th and 31s£. The weather during these 
two days was mostly very foggy ; the wind moderate, 
in the south-west quarter, and the head-sea abated: 
the fleet standing always on the larboard tack, and 
some parts of the enemy’s line seen at times to the 
north-west. Soon after noon of-the 31st, the fog 
clearing off, the enemy (still consisting of twenty- 
six sail of the line, some having separated, and others 
been added in the intermediate time) were seen to 
leeward; but having been dispersed in the fog, 
were forming again in order of battle, as the fleet 
advanced to get up abreast of them. But before that 
could be effected, the day was too far advanced for 
bringing them properly to action. r It was therefore 
judged expedient to keep the wind, with frigates of 
observation to notify any change in the enemy’s mo¬ 
tions during the ensuing night. 

“ June 1$£. The enemy was discovered this 
morning about three or four miles to leeward in order 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 233 


of battle, under an easy sail, to the westward. The 
fleet being duly arranged in the same order on the 
larboard line of bearing, and notice given of the in¬ 
tention to pass through the enemy’s line for engaging 
them to leeward, at about thirty minutes after eight, 
a.m., the signal (36) was made for each ship to steer 
for and engage her opponent in the enemy’s line ; 
whereupon the fleet bore up accordingly. The action 
commenced on the part of the British fleet soon after 
nine. The Defence, Marlborough, and Royal George, 
Queen, and Brunswick, being the only ships which 
pushed through the enemy’s line, together with the 
Charlotte, for engaging them to leeward. The Gib¬ 
raltar omitted to cross the French admiral for engag¬ 
ing his second ahead, as his station required. The 
Caesar’s main-top-sail was backed, and whilst distant 
from the enemy, though the signal for closer engage¬ 
ment was abroad. 

“ Soon after ten a.m., the French admiral, en¬ 
gaged by the Charlotte, drawing ahead (as he had 
continued to do from the beginning of the action, 
though the main-sail, top-gallant-sails, &c., were set 
in the Charlotte for keeping him on the same bearing 
when standing down to fetch under his stern), he 
bore away to the northward. The fore-top-mast, 
and soon after the main-top-mast (of which the 
weather-leech of the sail had been some time before 
cut in two and the sail rendered useless), in the 


234 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

Charlotte going over the side, no hinderance of the 
movement, or pursuit of the French admiral could be 
made. But he hauled to the wind again on the 
larboard tack, about three miles to leeward, and 
formed with eleven or twelve more of his ships not 
disabled by the loss (at least) of any of their masts. 
Ten of the enemy’s ships, almost all of them totally 
dismasted, were left to windward ; hut three of them 
with their sprit-sails, or sails raised on the stump 
of the fore-mast, joined the French admiral; the 
ships of the fleet being either so much dispersed, or 
disabled in their masts and rigging in the different 
actions, as to be prevented from opposing the escape 
of those French ships, or of assembling in force to 
renew the engagement. And when those three ships 
had joined the others, the enemy stood away large to 
the northward; leaving seven of their dismasted ships 
in our possession, one of which sunk while the pri¬ 
soners were removing, and many of the crew perished 
with the ship. 

“ The Marlborough and Defence were totally dis¬ 
masted ; and the Brunswick, having lost her mizen- 
mast, and drifted thereby to leeward of the enemy’s 
re-assembled ships, she bore up and arrived a few 
days after at Spithead. 

“ The damage in the masts and rigging of the 
ships generally was so considerable, that the 2nd and 
3rd of the month were employed in securing what 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 235 

were left of the wounded masts; fixing jury-masts 
where requisite, and removing the prisoners, as well 
taking the six prizes in tow. 

“ Having an uninterrupted succession of fair 
weather, with light western breezes in the interme¬ 
diate time, the fleet arriving in the Channel on the 
lltli, a part of it under the direction of Admiral 
Graves was ordered to Plymouth for being refitted ; 
and the rest, with the Charlotte, anchored the 13th 
instant at Spithead.” 

It was a novel sight at Portsmouth, such as had not 
been witnessed for many years, to see a triumphant 
fleet arrive with six of the enemy’s line-of-battle 
ships in tow; and crowds of people from every part of 
the country, far and near, flocked down to witness 
this gratifying scene, and to hail the veteran hero on 
the brilliant exploit he had just achieved. The prizes 
brought in were 

Le Juste . . 80 guns. L’Achille . . 74 guns. 

Sans Pareil. . 80 Le Northumberland . 74 

L’America . . 74 L’lmpetueux . . 74 

And the Vengeur, 74, sunk immediately on taking 
possession of her. Such a victory, however, was not 
to be accomplished without a considerable loss of 
human life, and human suffering. The details of 
these, in each ship, have been published in the Ga¬ 
zette ; it will be enough here to say that the number 
of killed in the British fleet was 279; of wounded, 
877; making a total of 1156: among whom was 


236 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

Captain Montagu of the Montagu, killed ; and 
Captain Hutt of the Queen, and Captain J. Hervey 
of the Brunswick, died of their wounds. Three 
lieutenants of the navy, one captain and one lieutenant 
of the army, three masters, seven master’s-mates and 
midshipmen, were killed. Among the wounded were 
Bear-Admiral Pasley (Bellerophon), Rear-Admiral 
Bowyer (Barfleur), each of whom had a leg shot off, 
and Admiral Graves (Sovereign) was badly wounded 
in the arm. Captain the Honorable George Berkeley 
(Marlborough), and Captain Sir A. S. Douglas 
(second captain of Queen Charlotte), one master, two 
captains and one lieutenant of marines, ten lieutenants 
of the navy, two of whom died, and eighteen mid¬ 
shipmen, were severely wounded. 

In the six captured ships the killed were 690, 
wounded, 580; total, 1270; besides 320 who went 
down in the Vengeur. The number of prisoners 
removed is stated at 2300; the total number in the 
six captured ships could not be less than 5000. 

In the Extraordinary Gazette of the 21st June, 
Lord Howe observes, (what all must be aware of,) 
that the commander of a fleet is unavoidably so con¬ 
fined in his view of the occurrences in time of battle, 
as to be little capable of rendering personal testimony 
to the meritorious services of officers who have pro¬ 
fited, in a greater extent, by the opportunities to 
distinguish themselves on such occasions; and his 
Lordship therefore considered it a part of his public 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 237 

duty to call upon the several flag-officers of the fleet 
to make their reports on the conduct of those under 
their respective commands ; and he adds, as the ge¬ 
neral result of such a call, “ Those officers, therefore, 
who have such particular claim to my attention are, 
the Admirals Graves and Sir Alexander Hood; the 
Rear-Admirals Bowyer, Gardner, and Pasley; the 
Captains Lord Hugh Seymour, Pakenham, Berkeley, 
Gambier, John Harvey," Payne, Parker, Henry Har¬ 
vey, Pringle, Duckworth, and Elphinstone. Special 
notice is also due of the Captains Nicholls of the 
Sovereign, and Hope of the Bellerophon, who became 
charged with, and well conducted, those ships when 
the wounded flag-officers, under whom they respec¬ 
tively served therein, were no longer able to remain 
at their posts; and the Lieutenants Monckton of the 
Marlborough, and Donelly of the Montagu, in similar 
situations. These selections, however,” he adds, 
“ should not be construed to the disadvantage of 
other commanders, who may have been equally de¬ 
serving of the approbation of the Lords Commis¬ 
sioners of the Admiralty, although I am not enabled 
to make a particular statement of their merits.” 

This saving clause, nevertheless, was but little cal¬ 
culated to soothe the wounded feelings of the other 
thirteen captains whose names did not appear; and 
the measure of calling for these reports was consi¬ 
dered by them and their friends as unprecedented 
and unjust. The call could scarcely be unprece- 


238 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

dented, as it is a positive instruction, sanctioned by 
the King’s Order in Council, that “ every flag-officer, 
when in battle, is to observe the conduct of every 
ship near him, whether of the division or squadron 
he commands or not; and he is, at the end of the 
battle, to report his observations to the commander- 
in-chief, that the conduct of every officer may be re¬ 
presented as he shall really deserve.” This informa¬ 
tion is intended solely for the Admiralty and the 
commander-in-chief, to enable him and them on 
future occasions to select those most worthy of em¬ 
ployment, and not with any view to make it public; 
Lord Howe had no such intention; he was compel¬ 
led, contrary to his own judgment, as will be seen, 
to this latter step. But if any injustice was done, 
it ought not to be laid to the charge of the com¬ 
mander-in-chief, but to the several flag-officers who 
made their reports. As Sir Roger Curtis, the first 
captain, and Sir Andrew Douglas, the second, of 
the Queen Charlotte, are mentioned with distinction, 
in the first Gazette of 11th June, Lord Howe 
contents himself in the second, of 11th June, by 
giving his own testimony in behalf generally of the 
officers and company of every description in that 
ship. 

The Csesar being repeatedly mentioned by name 
in an unfavourable light, her Captain, Molloy, de¬ 
manded a court-martial on his conduct, which, of 
course, the Admiralty could not refuse; but Lord 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 239 

Howe was very much annoyed at it, and did all he 
could to prevail on the captain not to persist in his 
demand, but he was inflexible. The trial was long de¬ 
layed to get the witnesses assembled : it lasted many 
days, and the charges were proved against Captain 
Molloy, the sentence being, “ As it appears to the 
court that in the actions of the 29th May and 1st 
June, as well as on many former occasions, his per¬ 
sonal courage was unimpeachable, it doth adjudge 
him only to be dismissed from the command of 
His Majesty’s Ship Csesar.” 

It has been left on record, privately, by a gallant 
admiral now deceased, that Molloy was by no means 
the only captain that ought to have been tried for 
misconduct and disobedience of orders on this memo¬ 
rable occasion. The commander-in-chief’s orders 
were undoubtedly not carried into effect, by a very 
large portion of his fleet, as to passing through the 
line and each engaging his opponent to leeward, but 
this did not appear to have arisen from any wilful 
disobedience, but from inability in some, on account 
of the bad sailing of the ships, and in others from 
the very compact line in which the French were 
formed; so that five captains only of the British fleet 
had the nerve to let their ships “make their own way,” 
like the Charlotte, through the line: others again 
erred by mistake of signals, which may very often 
happen in the midst of the smoke and confusion that 
must occur in an engagement between two fleets. 
There was besides a signal which left to each com- 


240 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

mander a discretionary power to engage his opponent 
either to windward or leeward, as circumstances 
might arise. 

One omission of a name has recently been brought 
forward as a grievance, in a somewhat prominent 
manner, long after the death of the officer aggrieved.* 
It is that of the late Lord Collingwood, who was 
Captain of the Barfleur, in which the flag of Rear- 
Admiral Bowyer was flying, and who was wounded 
and left the deck a little after ten o’clock on the 
morning of the 1st of June. In consequence of this. 
Captain Collingwood had to draw up and sign his own 
report which, in point of fact, contains little more 
than a memorandum of the signals made from the 
Queen Charlotte to the several ships, and bears more 
the character of a log than any account of the share 
of the battle taken by the Barfleur. “ We found it,” 
he says, “impracticable to pass to leeward of the 
enemy’s line, without interrupting the fire of the 
ships ahead of us, and in danger of being fired into 
by themand he concludes his meagre report, by 
paying a compliment to his officers and ship’s com¬ 
pany “ for their intrepid bravery which characterize 
Englishmen, and the exact order observed by them.” 
Whether it was in consequence of this report, or 
owing to some oversight, which is more probable, 
that Collingwood’s name was not noticed, does not 
appear; but this gallant officer had undoubtedly great 
cause of complaint, his admiral being wounded and 
* In the publication of Mr. Newnham Collingwood. 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 241 

carried below in about an hour after the commence¬ 
ment of the battle, and the command having devolved 
solely on him ; this, however, would appear to be 
the only ground on which his claim rested, for the 
Barfleur was by no means particularly distinguished. 
She had 34 men killed and wounded—the Royal 
George had 92—nearly three times as many—and yet 
the name of Sir Alexander Hood’s captain, Domett, 
as brave a man as any in the navy, was omitted. Col- 
lingwood succeeded, however, a few years afterwards 
in obtaining the medal for this victory. After the 
gallant action of Sir John Jervis, olf Cape St. Vin¬ 
cent, he was told by the admiral that he was set 
down for one of the medals to be distributed on that 
occasion ; his answer was, he could not accept of one 
while that for the 1st of June was withheld. “I 
feel,” said he, “that I was then improperly passed 
over, and to receive such a distinction now would 
be to acknowledge the propriety of that injustice.” 
Soon after this, the two medals were transmitted to 
Collingwood at the same time by Lord Spencer, with 
a civil apology for some delay in sending that for the 
1st of June. 

This may have been right and proper, on the part 
of Lord Spencer; but Captain Collingwood, in prais¬ 
ing the battle of Cape St. Vincent as “ perhaps the 
most brilliant action upon record,” might have spared 
the following observation—“ and I cannot help feeling 
an almost spiteful satisfaction that Lord Howe is 

R 


242 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


outdone.” The observation is only that of an angry 
man, and is worth nothing more. “ His 1st of June,” 
lie says, “ grand as it was, bears no proportion, in 
any respect, to this. There, the number of ships 
was nearly equal; here, the enemy were nearly dou¬ 
ble ; there, they had only two 3-deckers, and we had 
eight or nine ; here, the enemy had six 3-deckers, and 
one of 4-decks, while we had only two first-rates and 
four 90-gun ships, and of our fifteen ships one was a 
little 64, the Diadem.” Captain Collingwood, when 
penning this comparison, knew very well that the 
Spanish naval officers were infinitely inferior, in every 
respect, to those who commanded in the French fleet 
under Admiral Villaret Joyeu^e, who behaved most 
gallantly. In describing Jervis’s action, Mr. Southey 
says, “ The general incapacity of the naval officers 
of Spain was so well know T n that, in a pasquinade 
which about this time appeared at Madrid, wherein 
the different orders of the state were advertised for 
sale, the greater part of the sea officers, with all their 
equipments, were offered as a gift; and it was added, 
that any person who would please to take them, 
should receive a handsome gratuity.” But Captain 
Collingwood’s “ spiteful satisfaction ” makes him 
forget himself. In the battle of the 1st of June, the 
English had seven 3-deckers, and the French three — 
on the 29th of May, four. He forgets, also, that 
the tonnage of the French 3-deckers was from four 
to five hundred tons more than ours; that of their 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 243 


80-gun ships, three hundred tons more than our 98’s, 
and their 74’s at least two hundred tons larger than 
ours ; and their dimensions, as to length and breadth, 
larger in the same proportion; that the Queen 
Charlotte had 900 men, the Royal Sovereign 875, 
and our 74’s generally 600; whereas the Montagne 
had 1100 men, the Revolutionaire 1000 men, and 
the 74’s, 700 men ; the weight of their metal pro- 
portionably heavier.* 

Sir John Jervis’s Gazette account of this action of 
the 14th of February is very far from being clear; 
on the contrary, it leaves a doubt as to the position 
of the separated part of the Spanish fleet he engaged. 
He says, “ passing .through their fleet in a line 
formed with the utmost celerity, tacked, and thereby 
separated one-third from the main body, after a par¬ 
tial cannonade, which prevented their re-junction till 
the evening.” From this passage, it is left doubtful 
whether one-third only of the Spanish ships were en¬ 
gaged, namely, nine opposed to our fifteen, or whether 
the other eighteen are meant. Lord Howe, in one 

British. French. 

* Number of guns .... 2,098 2,158 

Weight of metal . . . 21,519lbs. 25,5211bs. 

Number of men .... 16,647 19,828 

Size in tons. 45,338 51,520 

“ These odds,” says Mr. James, “ are on the side that an Englishman 
would wish them to be; they are just sufficient to shed a lustre upon 
the victory which his countrymen gained; and gained too over an 
enemy who fought most heroically, and who yielded at last, not to the 
superior courage, but to the superior skill and steadiness, of British 
seamen.” 

R 2 



244 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

of his letters on this subject, understands it in the 
former sense. After paying the highest compliments 
to Jervis, he says, in allusion to the partial can¬ 
nonade which prevented their re-junction till the even¬ 
ing, “ I conceive the admiral had been so happy as 
to be able to confine his attack to the third part of 
the enemy’s fleet he had cut off, and to act upon 
them with his whole force. But I don’t comprehend 
the meaning of the passage where it is said, ‘the 
partial cannonade which prevented their re-junction 
till the evening,’ unless it be that the main body of 
the enemy, to leeward of the separated part and our 
fleet, never attempted moving up to the assistance of 
the divided ships; and when $uch of these last as 
were not captured had run down and rejoined their 
very negligent friends, with whom they unanimously 
pushed in concert for the nearest port—the devil 
take the hindmost.” 

In another letter from Bath, dated March 1797, 
he says, “ I think it will be most unfortunate for 
future naval commanders, and the country also, if 
the opinion prevails that its fleets may successfully 
contend against a superiority equal to the difference 
between the two squadrons in the late action off 
Cape St. Vincent. If Jervis had been more explicit 
in his narrative, as I understand it, he would be sure 
of engaging the applause which has constituted the 
pre-eminence of the most devoted generals : I mean 
in the advantage he so ably took of his opponent’s 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 245 

incapacity, by the entire defeat of one part of so much 
superior a force, before the other could be brought 
forward to prevent it. Whether we shall ever be 
more satisfactorily acquainted with the particulars 
seems improbable, unless some of the subordinate 
commanders, dissatisfied with the omission to record 
their distinguished exertions, shall see fit to give a 
more circumstantial detail of the incidents; and by a 
more pointed reference to the £ re-junction of the 
main body of the enemy in the evening,’ (as the 
dispatch recites, and which appears to have ter¬ 
minated the action,) impress the conclusion, that a 
part only of the enemy’s force was concerned therein.” 
Subsequently, however, with that candour which 
never forsook him, he says, “ I perceive I had mis¬ 
judged, in my inference from the contents of Jervis’s 
public letter. I now fully comprehend that the ad¬ 
miral’s conduct was most masterly and complete; 
that of the Spaniards most unaccountably defective, 
both in plan and execution.” 

But should this not be the correct view, and 
should it even have happened that the ships engaged 
were equal numbers on both sides, it would still be 
a question whether “ Lord Howe was outdone.” In 
a letter from a gallant admiral, who was in the battle 
of the 1st of June, and now living, it is justly ob¬ 
served,—“ The 1st of June was the first general 
action fought in the course of the war, and led to 
many glorious results ; had it been the last , not one 


246 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

of the French ships would have been allowed to 
return to port; ”—alluding to the inexperience of 
many of the captains and the rawness of the crews, 
some of the former of whom, in particular, com¬ 
pletely defeated the intention of the commander-in- 
chief—the most simple and intelligible that could 
be given—that each ship should pass through the 
enemy’s line, and each engage his opponent to 
leeward. The subsequent signal, that “each ship 
should steer for and engage the ship opposed to her 
in the enemy’s line,” relieved the commanders from 
the difficulty and danger of passing through the 
enemy’s compact line, but enforced the order for 
each ship to engage her opponent. 

Lord Howe, who never complains, must never¬ 
theless have felt this defection of so many of his 
officers strongly. In the year 1799, not many 
months before his death, on hearing of the splendid 
victory of the Battle of the Nile, he writes thus :— 
“ I will only say, on the splendid achievements of 
Nelson, that one of the most remarkable features in 
the transaction consists in the eminently distinguished 
conduct of each of the captains of the squadron. 
Perhaps it never before happened that every captain 
had equal opportunity to distinguish himself in the 
same manner, or took equal advantage of it.” 

It has been said that, if Lord Nelson had been in 
the place of Lord Howe on the 1st of June, the pro¬ 
bability is that not a ship of the French would have 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 247 

escaped—granted ; and if Lord Howe had been for¬ 
tunate enough to have had Nelson’s captains and 
crews, which gained the battle of the Nile, the pro¬ 
bability is equally strong that he would have been 
equally successful; for Lord Nelson only followed 
Lord Howe’s example in assigning to every com¬ 
mander his opponent; but what could Lord Nelson, 
or any other commander, effect, if his whole plan 
was deranged by the bad qualities of his ships and 
the inexperience and incapacity of many of their 
commanders ? 

With regard to the omission of officers’ names in 
the official dispatch, it appears from several private 
letters addressed to Lord Chatham, that Lord Howe 
had no intention to go beyond his first letter pub¬ 
lished in the Gazette of the 10th of June, in which 
no names appear, except those of his own two cap¬ 
tains. But it was suggested to him that a detail of 
the meritorious services of individuals would be ex¬ 
pedient and desirable to be laid before the public. It 
is evident, from his correspondence, that he did not 
think so, and that it would not be found easy to select 
from the returns such a statement, “ particularly,” 
as he says, “ under the circumstances of my situ¬ 
ation, and indeed my wearied mind.” On the 
19th of June he thus writes to Lord Chatham 
“ Conscious, my Lord, that almost every advantage 
to be derived from our late good fortune would be 
dependent on the general impression made by it, and 
the idea of perfect harmony subsisting in the fleet, as 


248 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


well as concurrent opinion of unexceptionable good 
conduct of every person having part in the late en¬ 
gagement, I wished to confine my reports to such 
general statement as I have given of our trans¬ 
actions. It was for these reasons I wished to have 
conversed with your Lordship on the subject of 
framing some more confined narrative. But I am 
so assailed to name those officers who had opportu¬ 
nity of particularly distinguishing themselves, that I 
shall proceed with the earliest preparation of it, 
though I fear it may be followed by disagreeable 
consequences.” And he adds, “ I hope to be more 
clear on these points when I am to meet your Lord- 
ship, desiring only to have it understood that I 
cannot be insensible to the flattering distinction of 
being thought capable of rendering public service, 
whilst I most sincerely lament the disappointment I 
have to apprehend in that desirable pursuit.” No¬ 
thing can more clearly point out than this letter does, 
his great unwillingness to make public the invidious 
distinction of individual merit, of which it had been his 
duty to inform himself, but which was alone intended 
for the information of the Admiralty. He was not al¬ 
lowed to follow his own opinion ; for on the following 
day (the 20th) he is called upon to hasten off the 
account, which was to be published in the next day’s 
Gazette (the 21st), and where the obnoxious distinc¬ 
tion appears. He says, “ Lieutenant Bagot waits 
upon your Lordship with the substitute for my former 
letter, wherein I have endeavoured to satisfy the ex- 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 249 

pectations for a more particular detail of tlie services 
the apparently most distinguished commanders in the 
fleet performed on the late occasion.” 

Thus we see most distinctly that, fully impressed 
as he was with the impropriety and the bad conse¬ 
quences of the step about to be taken, Lord Howe 
was compelled, by an authority he could not resist, 
and contrary to his own wish and opinion, to make 
public that invidious selection of names, of which 
those omitted had, or thought they had, reason to 
complain. He was called upon too, it may almost 
be said, to prepare it at a moment’s notice. He 
would have acted, if left to his own judgment, as Sir 
John Jervis did after the battle of St. Vincent, who 
omitted even the name of Nelson, though he was 
mainly instrumental in gaining the battle. It is 
known, however, that in Jervis’s original letter, he 
had given to Nelson all due praise, but was prevailed 
on by Sir R. Calder, the captain of the fleet, to sub¬ 
stitute another, in which it was left out, on the 
ground that, as Nelson had disobeyed the signal of 
recall, any eulogy on his conduct would encourage 
other officers to do the same; while the exclusive 
praise of one individual would act as a discourage¬ 
ment of the rest. The surprise is, that a man of 
Lord St. Vincent’s sagacity should not have detected 
the lurking jealousy that gave rise to such a recom¬ 
mendation. 

As to Lord Howe himself, anxious as he fre¬ 
quently expresses himself to stand well with his 


250 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

brother officers, his first letter published in the 
Gazette, and his private letter to Lord Chatham, 
breathe that spirit of modesty and humility which is 
truly characteristic. In the latter he only says, 
“ Being very much fatigued with our last five or 
six days’ (and I may, without impropriety, add, as 
many nights,) employment, I must beg you will 
allow me to refer you to Sir Roger Curtis for any 
particulars you may desire to be informed of, which 
are unnoticed, respecting the late operations of the 
fleet, in my official letter.” Indeed, throughout his 
correspondence with Lord Chatham, as First Lord 
of the Admiralty, consisting, up to this period, of 
about fifty private letters, there is a marked respect 
and deference, never approaching to anything like 
familiarity, which, considering the intimacy necessarily 
subsisting between them, is corroborative of the re¬ 
served character by which the noble earl was remark¬ 
ably distinguished throughout his life. In no part 
of this correspondence is there any difference 01 
opinion, or any private views whatsoever. 

The same cordiality and general satisfaction might 
have prevailed in the fleet, had the government been 
contented with the reply of the Admiralty to Lord 
Howe’s official letter, which was circulated and read 
to the officers and crews of all the ships—stating 
that his lordship’s letter having been laid before the 
King by the Earl of Chatham, the latter “ has 
informed the Board that his Majesty was graciously 
pleased to express, and to command that it be sig- 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 251 

nified to you, in the strongest terms, his highest ap¬ 
probation of your spirited and judicious conduct upon 
that occasion, and his highest satisfaction in the ac¬ 
count you have given of the bravery and gallant 
behaviour of all the officers and men who were in 
the action with you ; and that it is also his Majesty’s 
pleasure that you should, in the manner you may 
judge most proper, acquaint all the officers and men, 
especially the admirals (by name), with the just 
sense his Majesty entertains of the zeal and courage 
they have so eminently exerted in his service.” 

There is another point on which Lord Howe’s 
conduct has been censured in giving way, as it is 
said, to the advice of the captain of the fleet; this 
was, not to pursue the five dismasted ships which 
went off unmolested under their spritsails, and suc¬ 
ceeded in joining the remainder of their fleet, then 
two or three miles to leeward. That Lord Howe, 
in the sixty-ninth year of his age—after five or six 
days’ and nights’ fatigue,—weakened in body and 
mind, after so much exertion and anxiety, should be 
content, the battle being ended, to leave the rest to 
one in whom, for a long series of years, he had 
placed, and had every reason to place, his entire 
confidence, might reasonably be expected, without 
subjecting himself to the imputation of neglect or. 
indifference. The prevailing opinion in the fleet 
certainly was, that five or six of the enemy’s ships 
were suffered to escape which might have been cap¬ 
tured with ease. Lord Howe states, however, both 


252 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


in his public letter and private journal, that the 
greater number of the British fleet were so much 
disabled, or widely separated, and under such cir¬ 
cumstances, with respect to those ships of the enemy 
in a state for action, and with which the tiring was 
still continued, that two or three even of their dis¬ 
mantled ships, attempting to get away under a sprit- 
sail singly, or smaller sail raised on the stump of the 
foremast, could not be detained. 

A document written by Sir Roger Curtis, and 
purporting to be observations on the state of the 
ships at the close of the action, “ made for Lord 
Chatham on my going to England with the news of 
the defeat of the French,” is as under:— 

British. 

2 Totally dismasted. 

6 Main, main and fore-topmasts lost. 

3 Main yards, main and fore-top-gallant-masts lost. 

14 Not much damaged. 

25 Total. 

French. 

9 Capable of making an effort to protect thejr dismasted ships. 

2 3-deckers ran off under foremast only. 

1 80, nothing but lower mast standing. 

2 Dismasted, ran down under spritsail, and towed away. 

4 Others that went away early in the action, but too much damaged 

to attempt renewing action. 

7 Taken, one of which sunk afterwards. 

] Sunk in action (doubtful). 

26 Total. 

This statement must have been drawn up in haste, 
as it is not quite correct. It was soon found that the 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 253 

British ships in general proved to be much more 
damaged than was at the time imagined. 

It is for seamen only to decide (in which way, 
however, is not material for the present purpose) 
whether, from the above statement, fourteen of our 
ships, “ not much damaged,” were more than equal to 
oppose themselves to nine of the French “capable of 
making an effort to protect their dismasted ships/’ 
and the four others “ that went away early in the 
action /’ or at all events, whether they were not fully 
equal to have prevented the Jive dismantled ships 
from escaping. The general impression at the time 
in the fleet was, that they could and ought to have 
done so. Five flag officers now alive, all of whom 
served in the squadron on the 1st of June as lieute¬ 
nants, have not hesitated to give their written opinion 
that these dismasted ships ought to have been cap¬ 
tured. One says, “ I do not think there could have 
been a more noble sight than seeing twenty-five 
British line of battle ships intending to pass through 
the French line, consisting of twenty-six. The 
French rear, seeing our intention, pressed so much 
and so close on their van as to prevent very many 
of our ships passing through or taking but little 
part in the action ; but by so doing they destroyed 
their own line, and made it quite impossible for 
them to recover. When the smoke cleared away 
they had left twelve sail of their dismasted ships in 
our possession; five got off, some under a spritsail, 
and others were towed out by their small ships. We 


254 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

had at that time many of our line of battle ships 
with every mast and sail standing, which might and 
should have prevented the escape of those five sail of 
dismasted ships. ,, Another flag officer, a vice- 
admiral, says, “ Certainly there was much said by 
the officers of the fleet; and I must confess I gave 
my opinion freely when the signal was made to dis¬ 
continue the action before we had endeavoured to 
secure the enemy’s dismasted ships and taken pos¬ 
session of them; it was the prevailing opinion that 
this should have been done, and not have allowed 
them to go off under their spritsails, and towed by 
their frigates to the fleet to leeward. Several of our 
ships had not been much injured in their masts, 
yards, and rigging, and certainly were equal to have 
performed that service; hut in that case I do not 
think the commander-in-chief would have been in a 
situation to pursue the enemy. It is, I assure you, 
painful to my feelings (as I had a very great regard 
and friendship for Sir Roger Curtis), hut he cer¬ 
tainly had the credit of dissuading the commander- 
in-chief from pursuing the enemy. I have no doubt 
that Sir Roger made use of an expression implying 
that the French might possibly turn the tables upon 
us.” Another gallant vice-admiral very sensibly 
writes thus : “I served as a lieutenant under the^flag 
of my worthy and valuable friend Lord Gardner; was 
with him in the two actions of the 29th of May and 
1st of June, and on the 23rd of June of the following 
year ; during that period I had ample opportunity of 



VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 255 

observing and forming my judgment of the indefati¬ 
gable zeal and exertions of the noble Earl Howe, 
and I have now no hesitation in declaring what my 
opinion was then, and which time has since fully 
confirmed, that not only the fate of England, but 
perhaps of Europe, mainly depended on the decision 
of that memorable and eventful day. But I think 
that all conjectures and opinions, after a lapse of 
forty years, of w T hat might have been the probable 
consequences of so retrospective an event, had other 
measures been pursued, appears to be perfectly use¬ 
less.” Useless it now undoubtedly is; but as blame 
is repeated against the captain of the fleet in almost 
every account of this memorable engagement, truth 
requires that, as a mere matter of fact, the question 
should not remain undecided. The following letter 
addressed to the writer of this memoir by Admiral 
the Honourable Sir Robert Stopford, the use of whose 
name has been authorized, sets it at rest:— 

“ Harley* Street, 1st of June. 
f ‘ On this day, so memorable for the victory gained 
by the Admiral Lord Howe, I congratulate the naval 
world upon the memoirs of that eminent person 

being placed in your hands.My earliest 

impressions were strong in favour of Lord Howe, 
and having subsequently served under his lordship’s 
command, as Captain of the Aquilon and Phaeton, 
those first impressions were much strengthened and 
confirmed by every circumstance of his high bearing 
and gallant conduct. This first victory of his, in 



256 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

fact, led the way to every other; and although more 
dashing ones, and of larger results, took place, in the 
course of the long war, in none was more cool deter¬ 
mination evinced than on that morning when, after 
half an hour had been given for breakfast, the two 
lines were drawn up parallel to and in opposition of 
each other. We bore down (to use the phrase of an 
Englishman who happened to be a prisoner on board 
one of the French ships) as if we were calmly com¬ 
ing to an anchor. 

“ Having observed the Marlborough dismasted in 
the course of the action, and surrounded by the 
enemy’s ships, I bore down and took her in tow, 
which bringing me very near the Queen Charlotte, 
I went on board for orders: the cool, collected 
manner in which I was received by Lord Howe, and 
the desire he expressed to get the ship set to rights 
to continue the action, showed that such was his in¬ 
tention ; and for the purpose of exonerating Lord 
Howe’s memory from the charges I have heard al¬ 
leged against him on that occasion, for not following 
up his victory, I think it right to state, that when 
standing on the Queen Charlotte’s poop, close to 
Lord Howe, Sir Roger Curtis came in haste, and 
apparent perturbation, exclaiming, ‘ I declare to 
God, my Lord, if you don’t assemble the fleet, they 
will turn the tables upon us.’ I must confess that 
I did not see anything to warrant such an exclama¬ 
tion, excepting a French ship passing under the 
Queen Charlotte’s stern, and firing a few guns into 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 257 

her. The admiral and Sir R. Curtis then retired to 
another part of the poop, and nothing more was 
done/’ &c. &c. 

No one can entertain a doubt that the advice was 
given conscientiously and with the best possible in¬ 
tentions, though there might be an error in judg¬ 
ment. It is the duty of the captain of the fleet to 
advise and assist the commander-in-chief, and it is 
for him to follow or reject his advice. No man could 
have conducted the perilous service entrusted to his 
charge at the siege of Gibraltar, with more energy, 
zeal, and effect, than Sir Roger Curtis did, as tes¬ 
tified by that gallant officer General Elliot, who 
attributes the salvation of the garrison mainly to his 
exertions ; and none will suppose that he would 
intentionally be the instrument of doing any act 
injurious to his own character, or to that of his be¬ 
nefactor and friend, who took him by the hand, and 
never deserted him, at a time when they were perfect 
strangers to each other. But, after all, has not more 
been said on this part of the subject than it deserves, 
and was not the beneficial effect to the country pretty 
much the same whether seven or twelve of the 
enemy’s ships had been taken ? By this action the 
superiority of the British navy was fully confirmed; 
its spirit, some time dormant, was revived—that of 
the enemy depressed ; it was to one a decided victory 
—to the other, as decided a defeat. 

Admitting then what seems to have been the 

s 


258 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

general feeling, that the five dismantled ships ought 
not to have been suffered to escape to their fleet, the 
question is, was Lord Howe in a condition, with re¬ 
gard to his fleet, to order down a squadron to recover 
them, which could only be done by renewing the 
action ? The following statement, extracted from a 
critical inquiry into the transactions of the three 
days, by a captain of the navy, who has given much 
attention to naval actions with fleets, may assist in 
clearing up this point:—“What hope,” he asks, 
“ could Lord Howe entertain of renewing the com¬ 
bat with advantage when the state of the following 
ships is taken into consideration ? namely, the Queen 
Charlotte, Royal Sovereign, Royal George, Bar- 
fleur. Queen, and Glory, of three decks, that w T ere 
at the time incapable of renewing the combat; as 
were also the Csesar, of 80, and the Bellerophon, 
Brunswick, Orion, Russell, Invincible, Defence, and 
Marlborough, of 74 guns each—the two last totally 
dismasted. The British admiral had left only the 
Impregnable, 90—the Gibraltar, 80—and eight 74’s, 
to combat one ship of 120, three of 84, and eight of 
74 guns, rather less damaged than those remaining 
at Lord Howe’s disposal—that is, ten to twelve.”* 
He might have added, what confidence could Lord 
Howe have in his eight 74’s which had contributed 
little or nothing to the victory—such as the Thun- 

* Captain Thos. White, Buckfast Abbey, Devon, who has published 
remarks on several naval actions, but not on Lord Howe’s. 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 259 

derer, that had not a man killed or wounded; the 
Alfred, none killed, and eight wounded ; the Tre¬ 
mendous, Culloden, Majestic, Ramillies, and Valiant, 
all of which had little share in the action;—was a 
second battle to be entrusted to such ships ? 

The same officer very justly observes, “ That 
France had, during the peace, been making extra¬ 
ordinary efforts to build new ships, to replace those 
lost to the state during the American war, which 
ships were of an improved as well as of an enlarged 
construction; while those of his Britannic Majesty 
were, with very few exceptions, such as had figured 
in two or three wars previous ; so that nothing but 
our superior seamanship made up for the inferiority 
of our ships. Even our best ships were of that class 
which the French had repudiated ; and Lord Howe’s 
fleet, bad as it was, was the most efficient our naval 
service could boast.” It was this neglect of the fleet, 
and the refusal of the ministers to grant the adequate 
supplies to provide an efficient one, that disgusted 
Lord Howe when he held the office of First Lord of 
the Admiralty, and finally drove him from it. 

Having now endeavoured to place, in their proper 
light, some circumstances which caused a temporary 
dissatisfaction in the fleet, we may turn to those of a 
more agreeable description. 

On the 20th of June, the King, Queen, and three 
princesses, proceeded to Portsmouth, and took up 
their residence in the Commissioner’s house, in the 

s 2 


260 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

Dockyard. Attended by the Secretary of State 
for the Home Department, the Board of Admiralty, 
the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, the Master- 
General of the Ordnance, the Port-Admiral, flag- 
officers and captains present, they went in procession 
to the Queen Charlotte, where they were received 
by Lord Howe; when the King, on reaching the 
quarter-deck, presented the gallant veteran with a 
sword richly set with diamonds, and also a gold 
chain to be worn about the neck, preparatory to a 
medal, intended to be struck and appended to it; 
and similar chains to Admiral Sir Alexander Hood, 
Rear-Admiral Gardner, and Sir Roger Curtis. On 
returning to the shore. Admiral Earl Howe in his 
barge, with the union flag flying, led the procession. 
During the four days the King remained, he visited 
the Dockyard and other public establishments; at¬ 
tended divine service at the church on the Sunday; 
inspected the forces and several of the ships of war; 
and on the 30th of June embarked on board the 
Aquilon, at Spithead, which conveyed the royal 
family to Southampton, from whence they proceeded 
to Windsor. 

It is scarcely necessary to say, that during the 
royal visit nothing but feasting and rejoicing, salutes, 
fireworks, and illuminations prevailed in Portsmouth. 
His Majesty gave donations from his privy purse 
to the artificers, workmen, and labourers of the 
Dockyard, Victualling, and Ordnance departments ; 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 261 

to the crews of the Queen Charlotte and the Aqui- 
lon frigate ; and he was also pleased to order one 
hundred pounds to be distributed to the poor of each 
of the parishes of Portsmouth and Portsea; fifty 
pounds to the poor of Gosport, and fifty pounds to 
the debtors in Portsmouth gaol; amounting, with 
other donations, to upwards of three thousand pounds. 

On the 4th of July a promotion was made of flag- 
officers, including nine captains to be Rear-Admirals 
of the Blue, among whom was the Captain of Lord 
Howe’s fleet; and on the same day, Wm. Young, 
Esq., James Gambier, Esq., and the Right Hon. 
Lord Hugh Seymour, were appointed colonels of 
his Majesty’s marine forces. Admiral Graves and 
Sir Alexander Hood were created barons of the 
kingdom of Ireland, and Rear-Admirals Bowyer, 
Gardner, and Pasley, together with Sir Roger Curtis, 
baronets of the United Kingdom. Bowen’s ser¬ 
vices, short as they were, received that consideration 
to which they were entitled. He was made lieute¬ 
nant the 23rd of June 1794; commander, 29th of 
June 1795; captain, 2nd of September 1795; re¬ 
tired captain on the 4th of June 1814; a Commis¬ 
sioner of the Transport Board, and, in July 1825, 
promoted to a retired rear-admiral. Ten years after 
his own promotion as captain, Lord Barham raised 
his younger son to the same rank, having mistaken 
him for the elder brother, to correct which error 
he gave a commission to the latter also, both of 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


262 


[CH. 


whom stand together on the list of captains of the 
year 1805. 

His Majesty likewise, on this occasion, signified 
his gracious intention of bestowing on Lord Howe 
the Blue ribbon, when he should come up to town. 
His lordship, however, by letter of the 18th of July, 
writes from Grafton-Street as follows :—“ The cir¬ 
cumstances about the Blue ribbon would be of too 
long detail for a letter to convey the perfect under¬ 
standing of the matter; suffice it to say, at present, 
that it was left at my option to maintain what I may 
(without arrogance) term my title to the distinction. 
But the notification of it, from the minister, was 
coupled with such suggestions, as of benefit to the 
King’s service, by a different disposal of the ribbon, 
that I deemed it expedient to press that more ad¬ 
vantageous appointment of it. The alternative of a 
marquisate was offered and declined.” The fact 
was, Mr. Pitt had promised it to the Duke of Port¬ 
land. His Majesty, however, took the earliest op¬ 
portunity of conferring on the noble earl the Order 
of the Garter. The corporation of London pre¬ 
sented him with the freedom of the city in a gold 
box, and he received the thanks of both houses of 
parliament; the more gratifying must these have 
been to the noble earl, as every tongue that spoke in 
both houses was lavish in praise, not alone of the 
skill and bravery which had always marked his con¬ 
duct, but for his integrity, love of justice, and huma- 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 263 

nity, and every private virtue by which he was dis¬ 
tinguished. “ There was not a man in that house/’ 
said Mr. Fox, “ or in the country, who had given 
higher satisfaction in all his professional life than the 
noble earl had; he, therefore, never heard a motion 
which had more decidedly his approbation than the 
present.” 

This splendid victory was, if possible, more highly 
esteemed by the continental powers, who had not 
yet been contaminated by the principles of the 
French revolutionists, than at home. But perhaps 
the most gratifying testimony to this great piece of 
service was a congratulatory letter which George III. 
wrote to the earl’s sister, Mrs. Howe, and of which 
the following is a copy :— 

“ Windsor, 11th of June 1794. 

“ Mrs. Howe’s zeal for the great cause in which 
this country is engaged, added to her becoming 
ardour for the glory of her family, must make her 
feel with redoubled joy the glorious news brought 
by Sir Roger Curtis; she will, I hope, be satisfied 
now that Earl Richard has, with twenty-five sail of 
the line, attacked twenty-six of the enemy, taken six 
and sunk two: * besides, it is not improbable that 
some of the disabled ships of the enemy may not be 
able to reach their own shore. I own I could not 
refrain from expressing my sentiments on the oc¬ 
casion, but will not detain her by adding more. 

(Signed) “ George R.” 

* A very common error at this time. 


264 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

To which gracious communication Mrs. Howe 

o 

returned the following admirable reply :— 

“ When Mrs. Howe heard last night of the victory 
obtained by your Majesty’s fleet, she did not feel a 
possibility of any addition to her felicity, but the 
approbation expressed by your Majesty of what has 
been performed, and the honour done her by so pre¬ 
cious and so gracious a notice of it, under the hand 
of her adored Sovereign, has proved the contrary: 
and she has only to regret that a woman cannot 
throw herself at your Majesty’s feet this morning at 
the levee, and there to have endeavoured to express 
her heartfelt gratitude.” 

Lord Howe had not much reason to be pleased 
with the Board of Admiralty, or rather perhaps the 
First Lord of the Admiralty, for not gratifying him 
in the very few requests he had to make respecting 
some of the inferior officers. Commanders-in-chief 
are naturally solicitous for those who have served 
under them meritoriously, but they sometimes expect 
too much. Howe did not, however, talk or write 
of his grievances, nor was he querulous like Colling- 
wood, who was not easily satisfied. He kept on 
good terms with Lord Chatham, but could not bring 
himself to ask any favour of him. He was desirous 
of obtaining a larger and better frigate than the 
Pegasus for Captain Barlow, who had attended the 
Channel fleet since its first appointment to repeat 
signals; but fearful of a refusal, he did not venture to 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 265 

ask for another. On his Majesty’s visit, when Lord 
Chatham was present, Lord Howe, on introducing 
Captain Barlow, observed he was a brave officer and 
ought to have a larger frigate. The King, turning 
to the First Lord of the Admiralty, said, “ My Lord 
Chatham, Captain Barlow must have a larger frigate.” 
Accordingly he was appointed to succeed Sir Robert 
Stopford, in the Aquilon, where, he says, “ I found 
the finest ship’s company I ever commanded, and in 
a state of discipline which reflects the highest merit 
on Stopford.” 

After such a conflict, it may be supposed what 
anxieties prevailed to know the fate of relatives and 
friends in the respective ships, and what pleasure 
derived from the mutual communications relative to 
the transactions of the fleet, during the four days it 
was in presence of the enemy. If a collection could 
have been made of the conduct and performances of 
each ship, (apart from the dry reports that were 
given in)—of the tales of individual bravery, and of 
anecdotes of a grave or humorous character—they 
would form an amusing and instructive volume. 
Many have been scattered among the journals of the 
day, some of which may here be mentioned, together 
with a few that have not before appeared. 

The Queen Charlotte, as in duty bound, set a 
most brilliant example to the rest. On the 29th of 
May, when she broke through the enemy’s line, she 
was followed, in the most gallant manner, by the 


266 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

Leviathan and the Bellerophon, both of which were 
most conspicuously engaged. The fore-mast of the 
Leviathan was crippled, and in danger of falling; 
Lord Howe, observing this, instantly stood to her 
rescue. The followingis an extract from the Journal 
of Lord Hugh Seymour, obligingly furnished by his 
son. Sir George Seymour :—“ Quarter before four : 
being very near, and pointing into the body of the 
French fleet, which had then approached to succour 
their rear, the Queen Charlotte wearing, we did the 
same, but not without exposing ourselves for a long 
time to be raked by the French admiral, and three 
other ships, which had stood back to the relief of two 
of their ships that were in danger of being cut off 
by our fleet. 

“ On this occasion the gallant conduct of the 
Queen Charlotte, in coming down to draw the 
enemy’s fire from the Leviathan, has made too strong 
an impression on my mind, and is too much the 
subject of general applause on board her, for me to 
resist expressing my sense of it, and offering, in the 
name of all the officers, as well as my own, this 
feeble though grateful tribute of our admiration of 
our noble chief Lord Howe.” 

But the 1st of June was the day most glorious to 
the memory of Lord Howe. His breaking through 
the line, and brushing the ensign of Rear-Admiral 
Villaret Joyeuse’s flag-ship on the one side, and 
grazing, on the other, the Jacobin’s mizen shrouds 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 267 

with her jib-boom, was an exploit which has not been 
equalled, though approached nearly by Collingwood, 
eleven years afterwards, in the battle of Trafalgar, 
when the Sovereign cut the line and breasted the 
stern of the Santa Anna. The Queen Charlotte 
would, no doubt, have either sunk or captured the 
Montagne had not her fore-top-mast been shot away, 
and just as the French admiral’s fire had nearly 
ceased, the main-top-mast fallen over the side, which 
gave the Montagne the opportunity of making off to 
leeward, without the possibility of the Charlotte’s 
following her. Her hull was completely damaged; 
the tremendous broadside poured into her stern, as 
the Charlotte was passing through the line, made a 
hole large enough, as one of the sailors said, to row 
the admiral’s barge through it. 

As the Charlotte was advancing down towards the 
French line, with a determination to pass through it, 
it appeared so close and compact that Lord Howe 
expressed a doubt, whether there was room to pass 
between the Montagne, of 120 guns, and the Ja¬ 
cobin, of 80, which had stretched partly under the 
lee of the former, as if afraid of the Charlotte’s 
broadside, thus occupying the place it was intended 
the Charlotte should take. Lord Howe, however, 
was determined to pass through, or run on board 
the enemy’s flag-ship or the Jacobin, on which 
Bowen, with that blunt and resolute tone so pecu¬ 
liarly his own, called out, “That’s right, my Lord, 
the Charlotte will make room for herself.” On his 


268 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

first appointment to the Queen Charlotte, this un¬ 
polished but shrewd and clever seaman was in the 
habit, in addressing the commander-in-chief or re¬ 
plying to his questions, of frequently, almost con¬ 
stantly, using the expression “ My Lord.” One day 
Lord Howe said to him, “ Bowen, pray, my good 
fellow, do give over that eternal my Lord, my Lord ; 
don’t you know I am called Black Dick in the 
fleet ? ”—the sobriquet by which he was generally 
known to the sailors. 

Just as the Charlotte was closing with the Mon- 
tagne. Lord Howe, who was himself conning the 
ship, called out to Bowen to starboard the helm; to 
which Bowen remarked, that if they did so she 
would he on board the next ship, the Jacobin: to 
this his lordship replied, sharply, “ What is that to 
you, Sir? ” Bowen, a little nettled, said, in an under 
tone, “ D—n my eyes, if I care if you don’t; I’ll 
go near enough to singe some of our whiskers.” 
Lord Howe heard him, and turning to his captain, 
said, “ That’s a fine fellow, Curtis.” 

Some time after the battle, a deputation of the 
petty officers and seamen requested Bowen to ask 
Lord Howe if they might have the gratification of 
congratulating his lordship on the victory he had 
gained, and of thanking him for having led them so 
gloriously into battle. On receiving them on the 
quarter-deck, Lord Howe himself being on the 
front of the poop, was so affected that he could only 
say, with a faltering voice, and his eyes glistening 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 269 

with tears, “ No, no, I thank you ; it is you , my 
brave lads—it is you, not I, that have conquered.” 
The honest and blunt Bowen, in telling this to a 
friend, said, “ I could myself have cried most heartily 
to see the veteran hero so affected.” 

Shortly after the return of the Charlotte to Ports¬ 
mouth, Lord Howe sent for the first lieutenant, Lar- 
com, whom he thus addressed :—“ Mr. Larcom, 
your conduct in the action has been such that it is 
necessary you should leave this ship.” Larcom, who 
was as brave as his admiral, a good officer and sea¬ 
man, was thunderstruck, and, with tears in his eyes, 
exclaimed, “ Good God! my Lord, what have I done ? 
why am I to leave the ship ?—I have done my duty 
to the utmost of my power.” “Very true, Sir,” 
said Lord Howe; “ but leave this ship you must; 
and I have great pleasure in presenting you with 
this commission as commander, for your conduct on 
the late occasion.” 

It appears to have been at the particular solicita¬ 
tion of Sir Roger Curtis that the Caesar was ap¬ 
pointed to lead the van in the order of battle on the 
29th of May, much against the opinion of Lord 
Howe. Circumstances, however, occurred on that 
day which induced Lord Howe to nominate another 
ship in her place; but he again yielded the point, 
on Sir Roger’s earnest request to give him another 
trial, remarking, at the same time, “ You have mis¬ 
taken your man, I have not.” On the 1st of June, 


270 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

when the Csesar hauled up instead of going through 
the enemy’s line, Lord Howe, who was standing on 
the poop of the Queen Charlotte, tapped Sir Roger 
on the shoulder, and, pointing to the Csesar, said, 
“ Look, Curtis, there goes your friend; who is mis¬ 
taken now ?” 

The unfavourable opinion which Lord Howe 
seems to have formed of Captain Molloy may have 
been imbibed before the sailing of the fleet. The 
two captains of the Csesar and the Marlborough, 
when at St. Helens and ready for sea, had requested 
leave of absence, on which the commander-in-chief 
thus writes:—“ Our friend Molloy seems rather 
unfortunate in the multiplicity of family and other 
concerns, in which he is so frequently engaged. If 
the fleet had been ordered to sea as early as there 
has been reason to expect, and the detention of the 
Indiamen been removed, his important and unex¬ 
plained family concerns must have lost to him the 
benefit of his interposition where it would have been 
required. I have also a letter full of the distress 
which the suggestion that the Marlborough’s re¬ 
moval to St. Helens has created, and the necessity 
for attention to ordnance concerns increased ; and it 
is inferred, in consequence, that I shall control that 
expected appointment.* I have written in answer 

* The gallant captain was actually appointed Surveyor-General 
of the Ordnance—rather an incompatible situation to be held by a 
captain in commission. 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 271 

that I neither think the c deficient of complement ’ nor 
c requisite attention to ordnance business’ of sufficient 
weight to bar the employment of the ships as Ad¬ 
miral Graves proposes for that temporary service. 
And I have explained my sentiments so much at 
large, on the plea of civil duties intervening to cramp 
naval requisitions as, I trust, will put an end to the 
urging of the former in future.” It is rather cu¬ 
rious that these two ships should have required so 
many signals on the 29th of May to bring them near 
the enemy. On the 1st of June, however, the Marl¬ 
borough amply redeemed any tardiness on the former 
day, having been totally dismasted and her captain 
wounded and taken off deck. The conduct of the 
Marlborough on the 1st of June, as described partly 
by Captain Berkeley and partly by her First Lieu¬ 
tenant, Monckton, after the former was carried off 
deck wounded, is so noble, and at the same time 
attended with such remarkable circumstances, that 
it ought not to be passed over:— 

“ The Marlborough engaged the Impetueux for 
about twenty minutes, when she payed round off and 
dropt with his bowsprit over our quarter, where he 
lay exposed to a very heavy raking fire which we 
kept up. Every creature was driven from her decks, 
and some of my men boarded her, but were called 
back. I had now the satisfaction to see all his masts 
go over the side. At this moment a seventy-four, 
which was astern of the Impetueux, attempted to 


272 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

weather and rake us; but he met with so severe a 
reception that he dropt on board his consort’s quarter, 
and then luffing up, boarded the Marlborough upon 
the bow ; but the steadiness of our troops, and the 
good use made of our guns and carronades, pre¬ 
vented him from availing himself of his situation. 
In a few minutes I had the pleasure of seeing this 
ship's masts follow the example of the other, and 
they both lay without firing a gun, or without any 
colours, which makes me suppose they had struck, 
as not a soul was upon deck to answer ; and what 
confirmed me in this opinion afterwards, when we 
were dismasted and lay along-side the Impetueux, 
within half-pistol shot was, that no attempt was 
made against us, until our own fleet came up and 
took possession of them. 

“ I now attempted to back off from the two wrecks, 
and unfortunately accomplished it just as the French 
admiral came under our stern, who backed his main- 
topsail and raked us, by which he did us considerable 
damage, and carried away our three masts. It was 
from this ship I received my wound, and therefore 
the remainder is the account of my first lieutenant.” 

Lieutenant Monckton thus proceeds:—“At the 
time Captain Berkeley was obliged to quit the 
deck, we were still on board, but backing clear of 
our opponents ; our masts being then shot away by 
the three-decker under our stern, carried away the 
ensign staff and deprived us of hoisting any colours 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 


273 


for a few minutes. I ordered tlie wreck to be cleared 
away from the colour chest, and spread a Union 
Jack at the spritsail-yard and a St. George’s ensign 
at the stump of the foremast; but perceiving that 
the latter was mistaken by some of our own ships 
for the tri-coloured flag, I ordered the flag to be cut 
Otf. At this time we were laying along the Impe- 
tueux, within pistol-shot; and, finding that she did 
not return a gun, and perceiving she was on fire, I 
ordered our ship to cease firing at her, and suffered 
them quietly to extinguish the flames, which I could 
easily have prevented with our musketry. While 
clearing away the wreck, the rear of the enemy’s 
fleet was coming up, and perceiving that they must 
range close to us, and being determined never to see 
the British flag struck, I ordered the men to lie down 
at their quarters to receive their fire, and to return 
it afterwards if possible ; but being dismasted, she 
rolled so deep that our lower-deck ports could not 
be opened. The event was as I expected; the 
enemy’s rear passed us to leeward very close, and we 
fairly ran the gauntlet of every ship which could get 
a gun to bear, but luckily without giving us any shot 
between wind and water, or killing any men, except 
two who imprudently disobeyed their officers and 
got up at their quarters. Two of their ships, which 
had tacked, now came to windward of us, and gave 
us their fire, upon which one of their hulks * hoisted a 

* Dismasted ships that had struck. 

T 


274 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

national flag, but upon our firing some guns at her 
she hauled it down again ; and a three-decker having 
tacked also, stood towards us, with a full intention, 
I believe, to sink us if possible : the Royal George, 
however, who I suppose had tacked after her, came 
up, and, engaging her very closely, carried away her 
main and mizen-masts, and saved the Marlborough 
from the intended close attack. I then made the 
signal for assistance on a boat’s mast; but this was 
almost instantly shot away. At five the Aquilon 
took us in tow, and soon after we joined the fleet.” 

Captain Berkeley then concludes the report by 
stating, that “ the perfect discipline and well-directed 
fire which the officers kept up at their quarters, could 
only be equalled by the coolness, obedience, and 
bravery of the men; and the very trying and critical 
juncture in which Lieutenant Monckton took the 
command of the ship, and kept the British flag- 
triumphant until the victory was decided, demands 
my utmost praise,” This brave fellow was made 
commander a month after the battle, and captain the 
following year. 

A curious incident is said to have occurred on 
board this ship. When she was entirely dismasted, 
and otherwise disabled, by the extreme severity of 
the conflict,—the captain (the Hon. G. Berkeley), 
and the second-lieutenant (Sir Michael Seymour), 
severely wounded, the latter having his arm shot 
off, and the ship so roughly treated, that a whisper 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 275 

of surrender was said to have been uttered, which 
Lieutenant Monckton overhearing, resolutely ex¬ 
claimed, “ he would be d—d if she should ever sur¬ 
render, and that he would nail her colours to the 
stump of the mast.” At this moment a cock, having 
by the wreck been liberated from the broken coop, 
suddenly perched himself on the stump of the main¬ 
mast, clapped his wings, and crowed aloud ; in an 
instant three hearty cheers rang throughout the ship’s 
company, and no more talk of surrender. At the 
same time the Aquilon frigate, commanded by the 
Hon. Sir Robert Stopford, seeing the helpless state 
the Marlborough was in, came to her assistance and 
towed her out of the line. The gallant admiral, in 
reply to a question about the cock, says, “ it partakes 
of a cock-and-a-bull story, but there is no mistake 
in the cheers of the crew on my taking her in tow.” 
It is nevertheless a true story: through the kindness 
of Sir Thomas Hardy, an inquiry was made among 
the old pensioners of the Marlborough in Greenwich 
hospital, and two of the most intelligent, Alexander 
Boswell and William Brett, fully corroborate the 
circumstance; and the latter states that, on the ar¬ 
rival of the ship at Plymouth the cock was given to 
Lord George Lennox, the governor, by desire of 
Captain Berkeley. Lady Hardy has been good 
enough to ascertain from her aunt, Lady Mary 
Lennox, that the story is perfectly true, that the 
cock lived to a good old age, and that while the 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


276 


[CH. 


Marlborough remained at Plymouth it was daily 
visited by parties of her crew. 

His Majesty’s ship the Brunswick had a large 
figure-head of the duke, with a laced hat on. The 
hat was struck off by a shot in the battle. The crew 
of the Brunswick, thinking it a degradation that a 
prince of that house should continue to be uncovered 
in face of the enemy, sent a deputation to the 
quarter-deck to request that Captain Harvey would 
be pleased to order his servant to give them his laced 
cocked hat to supply the loss. The captain, with 
great good humour, complied, and the carpenter 
nailed it on the duke’s head, where it remained till 
the battle was finished. One of the sailors of this 
ship, in a letter to his wife at Newton Abbot, makes 
the following very shrewd and sensible remark:— 
" This dreadful battle happened on a Sunday , and if 
the French have rejected that day out of their ca¬ 
lendar, God Almighty has shewn them that he has 
not left it out of his” Nothing could exceed the 
gallant conduct of the Brunswick in her action with 
the Vengeur. One of the bower-anchors of the 
former being shot away, the cable ran out its whole 
length, and the ship in rounding fell close alongside 
the Vengeur. In this situation, being observed by 
Captain Henry Harvey, the brother of the commander 
of the Brunswick, who afterwards fell on that day, 
he stood to their relief in the Ramillies, and poured 
such a tremendous and destructive fire into the Ven- 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 277 

geur, that just after the conclusion of the battle she 
went to the bottom. 

The Defence, Captain Gambier, behaved most 
gallantly, and was terribly cut up and totally dis¬ 
masted ; she was one of the few that passed through 
the enemy’s line, got into the midst of the French 
ships, and lost her main and mizen-masts. Captain 
Gambier was an excellent officer, and a gentleman 
of strict principles of religion and morality. At the 
close of the action, Captain Pakenham, a rattling, 
good-humoured Irishman, hailed him from the In¬ 
vincible, “ Well, Jimmy, I see you are pretty well 
mauled; but never mind, Jimmy, whom the Lord 
loveth he chasteneth.” Another incident took place 
in the little Defence: the lieutenant of the after¬ 
part of the main-deck, seeing a three-decker, the 
Republicain, (which shot away her remaining mast,) 
suddenly bearing down towards them, struck with a 
kind of momentary panic, ran up to the quarter¬ 
deck, and addressing the captain with great eager¬ 
ness, exclaimed, “ D—n my eyes, Sir, but here 
is a whole mountain coming upon us; what shall 
we do ? ” Captain Gambier, unmoved, and looking 
gravely at him, said, in a solemn tone, “ Plow dare 
you, Sir, at this awful moment, come to me with 
an oath in your mouth ? Go down. Sir, and encou^ 
rage your men to stand to their guns, like brave 
British seamen.” On asking Captain (then Lord) 
Gambier, some years afterwards, if the story was 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


278 


[CH. 


true, he replied, he believed something of the kind 
occurred. 

When the Sans Pared was taken possession of, 
Captain Troubridge was found on board as a prisoner, 
having been captured in the Castor, when in charge 
of the Newfoundland convoy. On the morning of 
the 1st of June, the French officers, seeing the British 
fleet under easy sail, going parallel to the French 
line, taunted him by saying “ there will be no fight¬ 
ing to-day : your admiral will not venture down.” 
“Wait a little,” said Troubridge; “English sailors 
never like to fight with empty stomachs: I see the 
signal flying for all hands to breakfast; after which, 
take niy word for it, they will pay you a visit.” 
When the Sans Pareil had got enough of the battle, 
and was prepared to surrender, her captain sent down 
to request Troubridge would come upon deck and 
do him the honour to strike her colours: an honour 
which he thought fit to decline. 

But one of the most gallant exploits that occurred 
on this memorable occasion was when the Audacious, 
a small 74, commanded by Captain Parker, on the 
evening of the 28th of May, together with the Levia¬ 
than, drove the Revolutionaire, a large three-decker, 
out of the line: the Audacious stuck to her during 
the whole night, or, as Lord Howe has it, “ parted 
in attendance on the Revolutionaire.” “ The Auda¬ 
cious,” says her captain, “ commenced a very close 
action, which continued near two hours without in- 


VIII.] the victory OF FIRST OF JUNE. 279 

termission, never exceeding the distance of half a 
cable’s length, but generally closer, and several times 
in the utmost difficulty to prevent falling on board, 
which, as his last effort, to appearance, at about ten 
o’clock, he attempted to effect. At this time his 
mizen-mast was gone by the board ; his lower-yards 
and main-top-sail-yard shot away: he fell athwart 
our bows ; but we separated without being entangled: 
he then directed his course before the wind. When 
the enemy separated from athwart our bows, the 
company of his Majesty’s ship under my command 
gave three cheers, from the idea, taken from the peo¬ 
ple quartered forward, that his colours were struck. 
This I cannot myself take upon me to say, though I 
think it likely, from his situation obliging him to 
pass through or near to our line; but certain it is 
he was completely beaten: his fire slackened to¬ 
wards the latter part of the action, and the last 
broadside (the ships’ sides almost touching each 
other) he sustained without returning more than 
the fire of two or three guns.” 

After laying by during the night, which Captain 
Parker states was very dark—“ Soon after daylight,” 
he says, <c the next morning, to our utmost chagrin 
and astonishment, we discovered nine sail of the 
enemy’s ships about three miles to windward.” 
Thus was the little 74 deprived of her three-decked 
prize; and, in the disabled state of her rigging, was 
herself likely to have fallen a prey to the enemy’s 


280 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

fleet, had not the rain and fog coming on allowed 
her to make her way unobserved to Plymouth. 

The writer of this Memoir, having been favoured 
with the following extract of a letter written at 
Portsmouth by Lady Mary Howe, second daughter 
of the noble earl, to her sister Lady Altamont, 
is of opinion that, from the amusing anecdotes it 
contains, it may with propriety he placed at the con¬ 
clusion of this chapter:— 

“ Portsmouth, July 2, 1794. 

“ My dear Sister, —I have not written to you 
since I received your last letter, partly from want of 
time, and also because I have every day expected 
another letter from you, in answer to that which 
brought you the first account of our great happiness. 
As none is arrived, I will continue my history from 
where 1 ended in my last—I believe at the arrival of 
the Royal Family. The three younger Princesses 
and Prince Ernest arrived on Wednesday. Mamma 
and I dined and spent the evening with them, and 
saw them as happy as the general advantage and 
every consideration of private friendship could make 
them. I must say the same of the King and Queen, 
and the elder Princesses, who appeared almost to 
share our feelings. They came to the Commis¬ 
sioner’s house, at the Dock, at ten o’clock the next 
morning. We had been desired to attend and re¬ 
ceive them .; and after remaining about half an hour 
in the house they all set out to go on board the 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 281 

Queen Charlotte—mamma and I being ordered to go 
first on board and receive them. On their entering 
the ship, my father remained on deck, under his own 
flag. The papers will have described their coming 
on board in my father’s barge, steered by Sir A. 
Douglas, and attended by the Admiralty in their 
barge, and all the admirals and all the captains of 
the fleet in their boats. They were saluted by the 
Queen Charlotte, and all the ships of the fleet, when 
the royal standard appeared in sight, and cheered by 
each ship as they passed. Curtis received the King, 
and led him immediately upon deck. Our attend¬ 
ance on the Queen and Princesses prevented mamma 
and I from seeing the first meeting of the King and 
my glorious father, which I am told was the most 
affecting thingpossible. My father’s knees trembled 
with emotion when he kissed the King’s hand, who 
presented him with a most magnificent sword set 
with diamonds, and afterwards with a gold chain, to 
which is to be hung a gold medal struck for the oc¬ 
casion ; which is also given to the other admirals and 
captains who have contributed to this victory, con¬ 
sidered as the greatest ever obtained on the sea. 
My father afterwards kissed the Queen’s hand; and 
then his flag was lowered and the royal standard 
raised to the main-top-mast’s head, and saluted by 
the whole fleet. The Royal Family then went into 
the cabin, and appeared happy and comfortable to 
the highest degree, giving us a thousand proofs of 


282 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

the kindest interest. About three o’clock they went 
to dinner; after which the King gave a toast, drank 
by all at the table—the Princesses, the Prince, Lady 
Courtown, Lady Caroline Waldegrave, Lady Frances 
Howard, mamma, and I, my father waiting on the 
King and Queen—and this toast was pronounced in 
the most solemn manner, ‘May her great Admiral 
long command the Queen Charlotte, and may she 
long be an example to future fleets ! ’ A short time 
after this, the whole Royal Family walked through 
the ship’s company, drawn up in line, when my 
father told the King aloud, € that their diligence and 
propriety of conduct, in all respects, since the victory, 
was not less commendable than their resolution and 
bravery during the action.’ Nothing during the day 
was more pleasing to me than this walk through 
these brave fellows, every one of whom I am certain 
would attend my father to a cannon’s mouth, and all 
of whom have exposed their lives for him. We then 
left the ship with the same ceremonies, and when we 
were at some distance, the Queen Charlotte began, 
and the whole fleet saluted. We attended the Royal 
Family to the stairs at the dock, and then returned 
home, perhaps the happiest mortals breathing. 

" The next day the King held a levee at the 
governor’s, where all the officers of the fleet were 
presented separately to the King and Queen, and 
the gold chains given to the admirals; after which 
the King gave a dinner to the admirals—mamma } 



VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 283 

Lady Pitt, and I, dining with the Queen; and in the 
evening the Royals went on board the prizes in the 
harbour; but there mamma and I did not attend 
them. On Saturday they sailed about, and dined on 
board the Aquilon, which struck upon the Mother- 
bank, and we were obliged to come home in boats 
about nine o’clock, having passed a most delightful 
day, and with the finest weather possible. I should 
have said they saw the Prince of Wales launched in 
the morning. On Sunday they went to church at 
the dock, where they were attended by all the officers, 
and heard an admirably fine sermon, which is to be 
printed, and preached aboard all the ships. The 
King then dined with the captains of the fleet, and in 
the evening walked round the ramparts, the Queen 
and Princesses remaining with us at the governor’s. 
On Monday they left Portsmouth; but, to complete all, 
went by water to Southampton in the Aquilon, and 
we with them. After seeing them into their carriage, 
we returned; when the wind, which had been quite 
favourable to carry them over, shifted exactly round, 
and brought us home in three hours, the most de¬ 
lightful sail down the Southampton river in boats I 
ever went. We got here by five, in time for a second 
dinner. We were to leave this place yesterday, but 
have been detained, to my father’s severe regret, by 
the deaths of Captains Harvey and Hutt, who died 
on Sunday morning, and whose funerals he wished 
to attend: he is just come home from that most 


284 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

melancholy ceremony. Poor Harvey was his parti¬ 
cular friend, and had fought his Brunswick in the 
most heroic manner, and whose only anxiety after he 
came into Portsmouth was, (his arm having been 
taken off,) that Lord Howe should have been well 
satisfied with his conduct, and that he had justified 
the good opinion he had of him, when he gave him 
his Brunswick, and placed him next to himself in the 
line of battle. He had received two shots in the 
arm before he left the deck to have it amputated in 
consequence of a third. His poor brother, who 
commanded the Ramillies, seeing the Brunswick with 
three ships upon her at the same time, had twice 
borne down between the enemy and his brother to 
take the fire in his stead. For some time after he 
came on shore, it was thought he would do well, but 
the hot Aveather, and a contusion he had in his back, 
brought on a violent fever, of Avhich he died the day 
month after the action. Poor Hutt Avas also an un¬ 
common fine officer, but in a very bad state of health : 
the admirals who were Avounded are all doing well. 
I have just heard that Ave go from hence on Saturday. 
On Tuesday I go to Tunbridge Avith Charlotte and 
her brats, as it is supposed the Avaters Avill do us both 
good, though neither are ill; but Charlotte Avas so 
much struck, when she first heard of my father’s 
glorious victory, that it made her as yelloAv as saffron; 
and, as I have contrived lately not to look Avell nor 
be very strong, (I really believe from anxiety about 



VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 285 

my father,) it was thought Tunbridge would do me 
good. 

“ I will now try to recollect some more particulars 
to entertain you. The King’s present has been car¬ 
ried all round the fleet, to every ship’s company, and 
shewn to the sailors by an officer, and a paper read 
to them, written by my dear father, to express that, 
as commander-in-chief, and as he considers this 
proof of the King’s approbation in a great measure 
obtained by their exertions, he was desirous it should 
be seen by all those who had so much contributed to 
the victory. The sailors have been delighted with 
this attention, and the sword and declaration have 
been greeted with three cheers from every ship. 
Those on board the Queen Charlotte all touched it; 
and the whole fleet joined in the wish of health to 
him to wear it. The attachment of the sailors to 
him is I believe unexampled. In the fog of the 30th 
of May, Captain Payne told me he observed a little 
additional thickness on one side of the Russell, which 
he hailed, and it proved to be the Queen Charlotte: 
the ships not having had any communication since 
the action the day before, it was asked if all was well, 
and afterwards how was the admiral ? The moment 
it was answered Lord Howe was well, all the men 
of the Russell burst into three cheers. I told you 
before of all his own sailors coining upon deck with 
the same ceremony to welcome him after the action. 
Those who were present at that scene tell me no- 


286 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

thing was ever equal to it. My father says, ‘ Poor 
fellows, I was not prepared for it, and own it almost 
got the better of me ! ’ What it must have been to 
those who saw him take off his hat to return the com¬ 
pliment ! My father stood upon the poop the whole 
time of the action ; and nothing but a shot carrying 
away his topmasts, as he attempted to pursue the 
‘ Montagne,’ prevented his taking possession of her, 
after having totally silenced her guns, though so 
much superior to the Queen Charlotte in every re¬ 
spect: she was 800 tons bigger. The 80-gun 
ships we have taken are ten feet longer than our 
first-rates, and some inches wider; and the whole 
French fleet had 470 guns more than ours, and of a 
much larger calibre. Our superiority, in addition to 
the skill of the dear commander, lay in the resolution 
and firmness of the common sailors, of which, amongst 
many others, one occurred on hoard the Marlborough: 
to this ship two of the enemy were so close, that one 
of the sailors said ‘ he would visit them on board 
their own ship.’ As he was going to leap over, one 
of his comrades called after him to take a cutlass 
with him, which he refused, saying ‘ he should find 
one there;’ and on being called back, actually re¬ 
turned with two of the enemy’s cutlasses in his 
hands *. On board the Queen and Invincible, the 

* This looks like romance, but is more than probable true, Captain 
Berkeley having stated that, when the bowsprit of the Impetueux was 
over the Marlborough’s quarter, and every creature driven from her 
decks, some of his men hoarded her, but were called back. 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 287 

sailors who had their arms taken off in the engage¬ 
ment of the 29th, went into the cockpit on the 1st 
of June, to assist the surgeons and encourage the 
poor men who were to submit to the same opera¬ 
tion, by declaring it was much less painful than it 
appeared to he, and that they felt no pain from the 
wounds. 

“ The crew of the L’America ran below, and, when 
taken, assured Hugh Conway that it was only a ruse 
de guerre, as they had intended popping out upon 
him, when he should attempt to board ; but somehow 
the manoeuvre failed—which seems truly astonishing! 
They say we acted very unfairly, by not informing 
them we intended to attack them the day we did, 
which happened precisely the day they did not expect 
it, after having been regularly prepared for it for seve¬ 
ral days preceding that ill-chosen one. To this rea¬ 
sonable objection for our breach of etiquette we may 
attribute the assurance of the captain of the Northum¬ 
berland to Captain Bertie, that we were entirely de¬ 
ceived, if we imagined we had gained a victory , it 
was not even worthy of the name of combat ,—‘ce 
n’est qu’une boucherie ou vous n’avez montre ni 
science ni tactique/ I think the ferocious courage 
that could dictate this observation, from a man who 
was a prisoner to his conqueror, is worthy of admi¬ 
ration, and of a piece with that of the Jacobin, who 
fired her upper guns when her lower deck was under 
water. The officers of the Vengeur were carrying 
prisoners to one of our ships, when theirs went down; 


288 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

and when our people were scarce able to support 
the sight of our enemies in their horrid situation, 
the French devils looked on the catastrophe of their 
countrymen with perfect coolness. The cartridges 
on board the French ships, taken and used in the 
fleet generally, were mostly made of the fine painted 
church music used in the cathedrals, and of the 
preuves de noblesse of the principal families, many 
hundred years old, and illuminated with the genealo¬ 
gical tree. There was a decree of the Convention for 
applying the archives of the nobility to that particular 
purpose. I may tell you that my father has received 
the freedom of the city, and of the Skinners’ Com¬ 
pany, in two gold boxes of 100/. each, and also that 
of the Goldsmiths’ Company without a box. 

“ Friday, July 4.—The sailors are to-day to receive 
part of the prize money, two guineas each ; about 
one pound more, it is hoped, will be the remainder 
of their share. Government has taken off the 5 per 
cent, usually paid out of it, as an encouragement and 
proof of their approbation of this fleet. Above ten 
thousand pounds have already been subscribed at 
Lloyd’s for the widows, and children, and wounded 
sailors; in short, the country seems to think nothing 
can be a sufficient reward for those by whom this 
victory has been gained. 

“ It would amuse you to hear the titles wdiich the 
officers wish my father to have, as they choose him to 
be a marquis; though some of the sailors when dis¬ 
puting on this point the other day, one of them was 


VIII.] THE VICTORY OF FIRST OF JUNE. 289 

heard to say, ‘ A marquis, you blockhead, the King- 
must make him one of the blood royal! * Entre nous , 
if he intends to be anything more, ‘Duke de la Mon- 
tagne ’ would be a pretty title, if his top-masts had 
not prevented it. I should prefer that, as it would 
give me the title of Lady Molly Molehill; but as 
that title is out of the question, that of Duke Sans 
Pareil was proposed, there being already a Duke of 
Northumberland. Marquis le Juste, or if a French 
title will not sit well upon him, Marquis of Torbay, 
it is thought, would be a title that would completely 
refute all the insolence of last year. I think I have 
now sent you all my stories, except that Tom Pack- 
enham, having fired away in a very rude style on 
one of the French men-of-war, and observing they 
did not answer the compliment in the manner he 
expected, stopped his fire, and desired to know if the 
ship had struck. On being answered, they had not, 
he hallooed out, in great rage, ‘ Then, d—n ye, why 
do you not fire ?’ Remarking that one of the enemy’s 
ships had shot away the top-masts of one commanded 
by his particular friend, Pakenham declared with 
an oath, ‘ I’ll pay you for that; 5 and bearing down 
on the Frenchman, he gave him a broadside for 
the affront offered to his friend. After the action 
of the 29th, he sent word to my father, that his 
men and guns were quite ready for another touch, 
but they must tow him into the line, for his ship 
would not stir, and then he would do his duty. 


290 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

The French monsters were so persuaded their fire 
must sink our ships, that nothing could convince 
them they had not sunk several. The officers of the 
Impetueux, prisoners on board our ships, assured 
Captain Payne they had seen with their own eyes a 
ship, painted red and black, which had particularly 
troubled them by sticking close to them, go to the 
bottom, and no declaration of Jack Payne’s that he 
and his Russell were both above water, could make 
them credit his assertion. As so many declared 
themselves eye-witnesses of this fact, Payne and his 
ship must henceforth be considered as revenants , for at 
Portsmouth they or their ghosts certainly are at this 
moment. I will now only add some of the toasts 
that have been given, and also used on transparen¬ 
cies:—‘May the French ever know Howe to be 
master of the sea! ’—‘ The two first words of the 
Third Psalm.’—The day we sailed in the Aquilon, 
the King gave—‘ The Admiral, with the Union on 
the top-mast head; he who alone deserves to wear 
it.’ The common acclamation of the mob at Ports¬ 
mouth was, c God save the King, and Lord Howe to 
defend him ! ’.A good omen : the Bruns¬ 

wick sunk the Jacobin ;* and amongst all the sove¬ 
reigns at the heads of the ships, though many were 
severely wounded, not one crown was either shot or 

even scratched. This is a fact. 

(Signed) “ Mary Howe.” 


* This was a very common mistake. 



IX.] 


COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 


291 


CHAPTER IX. 

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE WESTERN FLEET. 


Resumes the command at St. Helens—Puts to sea with a splendid 
fleet—Makes several detachments—Driven back by bad weather to 
Torbay—Hears of five sail of French ships of the line at sea— 
Hastens ofFUshant, and cruizes to the westward—Wishes to re¬ 
sign—Prevented by the King—Report of French fleet being at sea 
—Sails and ascertains it was not so—Rejoices at Bridport’s victory 
—Gives up prize-money and all advantages of commander-in-chief 
to the fleet actively employed—Plan of keeping a fleet at St. Helens 
—Subordination of seamen in the fleet—Fault of the captains— 
Gallant conduct of Sir A. Douglas—Soldiers serving as marines— 
Discussions with Horse Guards—Complains of his infirmities— 
General of Marines—Vice and Rear-Admirals of England—Medals, 
delay in distributing—Consequences of—Activity of his mind in 
naval concerns—Resignation of his command. 


The great American and West India convoy, con¬ 
sisting of more than 200 sail of ships of immense 
value, and of so much importance to the French Go¬ 
vernment, for the supplies it was to bring for their 
army, that they risked the loss of their grand fleet 
for its safety, arrived in port a few days after the 
battle of the 1st of June; and about the same time 
Admiral Montague, with his squadron of six sail of 
the line, put into Plymouth Sound, having escorted 
his convoys to the required latitude. Here he was 

u 2 


292 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

immediately reinforced with three sail of the line and a 
frigate, and ordered to sea forthwith, for the purpose 
of endeavouring to intercept some of the enemy’s ships 
disabled in the late actions, or others that might have 
separated from the main body of the fleet. Having 
arrived between L’Orient and Brest, he discovered 
the enemy’s fleet, with their disabled ships in tow; 
but they were already advanced so near to the latter 
port, as to preclude all hope of bringing them to 
action with a successful issue. 

On the 9th of August, Lord Howe returned to 
Portsmouth to resume the command of the Channel 
fleet, with instructions to put to sea when in all re¬ 
spects ready. On the 22nd the whole of his ships, 
consisting of thirty-seven sail of the line and seven 
frigates, were assembled at St. Helens. He had 
under his orders Admiral Lord Bridport, the Vice- 
Admirals the Honourable W. Cornwallis, Sir Allan 
Gardner and Caldwell, and the Rear-Admirals the 
Honourable Sir George Elphinstone, and Sir Thomas 
Rich, Bart. To these were added a reserve of Por¬ 
tuguese ships, consisting of four seventy-fours, one 
sixty-four, and three frigates. With this splendid 
fleet he set sail on the 3rd of September, the prin¬ 
cipal object being to cover the numerous and valuable 
outward and homeward bound convoys; and pro¬ 
bably intended, at the same time, to impress the 
enemy with a proper idea of our naval superiority 
and resources, in being able to send to sea a fleet of 


IX.] 


COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 


293 


such magnitude, so speedily after the great victory 
of the 1st of June. The admiral cruized about 
Ushant and the Scilly Islands, detaching ships as 
necessary for the protection of the several convoys, 
and also for the annoyance of the enemy’s trade. 

The Portuguese squadron was soon found to have 
suffered such damage from the westerly gales, pre¬ 
valent at this time of the year, as to render it ne¬ 
cessary to send them into Plymouth for repairs, and 
to take care of their sick, the number of whom was 
rapidly increasing. Nor did our ships wholly escape 
the effects of the strong gales, several of which were 
ordered into the nearest ports to repair their damages. 
The loss of topmasts, and the splitting of sails, are 
described as something very remarkable ; which more 
than ever convinced Lord Howe there was something 
defective in their construction or ballasting. He 
directed two detachments to be made from the fleet; 
four sail of the line under Vice-Admiral Caldwell, 
and seven sail of the line under Rear-Admiral Sir 
Thomas Rich. The Channel fleet was thus reduced 
to twenty-five sail of the line, the same number that 
engaged the French on the 1st of June; all of 
which, together with the squadron under Sir Thomas 
Rich, were driven by the tempestuous weather, that 
occurred on the two last days of October, to seek 
shelter in Torbay. From this anchorage, Lord 
Howe wrote thus to the Admiralty :—“ Having re¬ 
turns of the complaints for which I have heretofore 


294 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

found benefit in the use of the Bath waters, I am 
with much concern obliged to renew my request to 
be relieved in the command of the fleet, the im¬ 
portant duties of which my infirmities render me 
unable to discharge.” In reply, he is told that, 
“ Renewing your request to be relieved in the com¬ 
mand of the Channel fleet, in order to go to Bath, 
as you have had returns of the complaints for which 
the waters at that place have proved beneficial, I am 
commanded by their Lordships to acquaint you, that 
they are much concerned at the account you give of 
the state of your health, and that leave will be given 
to your lordship to go to Bath for the recovery of it, 
when you return from the present intended service 
and they further approved of his having returned to 
Torbay. 

Captain Hamilton, of the Canada, arriving in the 
evening of the 8th of November, with intelligence 
of his having been chased, in company with the 
Alexander, by five French ships of the line, the 
Admiral next morning put to sea, standing across 
the Channel with a press of sail for Ushant, sixty 
leagues to the westward of which the enemy’s ships 
had been seen. An almost unintermitting fog pre¬ 
vailed, with little wind and calms, from the 9th to the 
14th, on the latter of which days the fleet was fifty- 
four leagues west of Ushant, not having fallen in with 
any of the enemy’s ships. Lord Howe continued to 
cruize till the 21st, nearly on the track on which the 


IX.] COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 295 

enemy had been seen, and proceeded 120 leagues to 
the westward, on the same parallel from Ushant, 
when the southerly and south-westerly gales set in 
with such violence that, the ships being dispersed, it 
was judged prudent to stand back to the eastward; 
and the weather becoming still more boisterous and 
squally, and several ships having parted company, 
the commander-in-chief decided on proceeding up 
Channel to Spithead, where he arrived on the 29th 
of November. 

Nothing further at this late season of the year was 
required from the fleet at sea; and his lordship’s 
health not having much improved, he became more 
and more desirous of giving up the command : in one 
of his letters he says, “ In the operations of the next 
year I hope I shall have no concern.” Indeed, no¬ 
thing but the pressing solicitations of the King pre¬ 
vented him at this time from sending in his resigna¬ 
tion. In the early part of January 1795, he writes 
thus, “ I have lately intimated to you, my dear Curtis, 
the hopes I entertained of being released from a 
charge attended with too many circumstances of 
anxiety and dissatisfaction, for me not to be solicitous 
of resigning. My application to the Admiralty, to 
that effect, has been productive of so serious a requi¬ 
sition, from the goodness of the King, as compels me 
to resume my painful situation, though the inconveni¬ 
ences of a winter campaign have been dispensed with.” 
His lordship, however, could not permit himself to 


296 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

dispense with them when a suitable occasion appeared 
to demand his services. 

In the spring of the year 1795, information was 
received by Government that the French beet, con¬ 
sisting of thirty-two sail of the line, and several 
frigates, had put to sea from Brest. Lord Howe 
immediately hoisted his flag in the Queen Charlotte, 
and sailed from Torbay with thirty-nine sail of the 
line, two of fifty and two of forty-four guns, besides 
nineteen frigates; out of which he had to provide 
convoys for the Mediterranean, Jamaica, and Lee¬ 
ward Islands, as well as for the East Indian and 
African trade. He soon learned, however, that the 
French had sustained such damage in a heavy gale 
of wind, in which the Revolutionaire, Parker’s three- 
decker, foundered, as to compel their return to Brest. 
Having therefore provided for the several convoys, 
and seen them all safe to a certain distance, Earl 
Howe returned to Spithead, looking previously into 
Brest to satisfy himself that no enemy’s fleet re¬ 
mained at sea. This was the last time his lordship’s 
flag was up. 

During the years 1795 and 1796, with the excep¬ 
tion of the short cruize above-mentioned, Lord Howe 
was permitted to remain on shore on the plea of ill 
health, notwithstanding his anxious desire not to be 
relieved from the charge of the fleet; it having been 
so contrary to every feeling of his heart, throughout 
a long life of service, to hold an appointment—almost 


IX.] 


COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 


297 


a nominal one—the duties of which he was unable to 
perform to his own satisfaction; still his whole mind 
was in the profession. The account of Lord Brid- 
port’s victory of the 23rd of June put him in high 
spirits. “ Lord Bridport’s brilliant success against 
the French fleet will facilitate, in all probability, that 
of another operation which interests us equally, in 
a hope that it may be as advantageously terminated. 
I have no account (he continues,) of the particulars 
from Vice-Admiral Cornwallis, respecting his ren¬ 
contre with the Brest squadrons, but I hear it was of 
a nature to reflect the highest credit upon his con¬ 
duct.” In the same month he says, “ I am getting 
better by degrees; and though, to be sure, I should 
prefer that we should be the agents when anything 
honourable and advantageous to the country is per¬ 
formed, I am perfectly ready to acknowledge that 
the public interest has not suffered by my absence.” 
And in speaking of Pellew, “who,” he says, “has 
written handsomely, as well as acted well, on the 
subject of his exertions,” he adds, “ and it seems yet, 
as if the enemy had adopted the plan of harassing our 
trade, rather than of thinking to make a struggle for 
the dominion of the sea.” 

Circumstanced as Lord Howe now w r as, under a 
probability of never again being able to hoist his flag, 
and yet not permitted to resign ; prompted by that 
noble and generous feeling which actuated him 
through life, and disdaining to receive the emolu¬ 
ments arising from the situation he held in a service, 


298 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

in which the state of his health rendered it morally 
certain he would never again take an active share, he 
determined on making a voluntary surrender of those 
advantages which every commander-in-chief, before 
and after him, whether on shore or afloat, had consi¬ 
dered his due, and made no scruple in appropriating 
to himself. But his own letter will best explain his 
feelings on this subject, and the decisive steps he took 
to effect his intentions :—“The interviews” he says, 
“ I have had this morning was settled perfectly a 
ramiable, with respect to all misunderstandings, in 
conversation or by letter, arising; and I am permitted 
to remain on shore, in respect of the next intended 
employment of our ship, for the purpose of going to 
Bath, upon the benefits resulting from which, and the 
occurrences of the times, my further engagements in 
the professional line will depend. But to defeat the 
supposition that I have quitted my office, and to faci¬ 
litate, at the same time, my proposition to leave the 
emoluments to those who are in the actual perform¬ 
ance of the services, which my present state of health 
does not permit me to undertake, my public letter to 
the Board is limited to a temporary leave of absence, 
and to request that it may be judged expedient, for the 
future appointment of the ships of the Channel fleet, 
to communicate the instructions by direct intercourse 
with the Admiralty, instead of passing them through 
me ; whereby the profits the commanders of the ships 
may derive from their good fortune will centre among 
themselves alone. The Queen Charlotte will still 


IX.] 


COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 


299 


appear as the ship reserved for me, when I may he 
able to resume the command of the fleet.” 

Five days after this letter was written, the Queen 
Charlotte and several other ships were taken from 
under his command, and he was directed to instruct 
Sir Roger Curtis to remove his flag into some other 
ship “ remaining under his [Lord Howe’s] com¬ 
mand.” The ships ordered to he withdrawn amounted 
to eighteen sail of the line and ten frigates; those 
retained on his list, to thirteen sail of the line and 
three frigates; and thus abridging the number of 
officers and men who were intended by his lordship 
to reap the benefit of his great liberality. The same 
Admiralty letter, he says, “ expresses the mode in 
which it is judged expedient for giving validity and 
effect to my desire not to withhold from others the 
pecuniary advantages of a station, the duties of which 
I am not in a situation to perform.” In another 
letter he observes, “ I believe I expressed, in my last, 
that I saw not the necessity of taking the ships 
so appointed from under my general command, to 
fulfil the intention for leaving the temporary chief 
commander possessed of the benefits annexed to cap¬ 
tures, whilst I remain on shore ; but I see that the 
ideas of the Board do not exactly correspond with 
mine in all their modes of signifying their deci¬ 
sions.” 

Lord Spencer had now succeeded to the adminis¬ 
tration of naval affairs. Of the reasons for Lord 


300 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

Chatham’s retreat from the Board of Admiralty, at 
so critical a period, Lord Howe pretends not to 
know, but observes that “ Lord Spencer, who is to 
succeed him, is a young man of singular probity and 
worth; has much application, and, I believe, intel¬ 
ligent capacity; and those who may have business or 
intercourse with him will find him to be of a most 
pleasing character.” 

A favourite system of Lord Howe was to have a 
certain number of ships stationed at St. Helens, par¬ 
ticularly those completed with landsmen and others 
who, never having served together before, would be 
advantageously separated from the rest of the fleet, 
for practising their nautical and military duties 
apart. Exclusive of the primary object of prevent¬ 
ing the enemy’s cruizers infesting the approaches 
to that anchorage, he deemed it the best position 
for occasionally annoying the trade of the enemy on 
their own coasts. In sending to Sir Roger Curtis 
his instructions on this head, he says, “ It will be 
necessary, I think, that you should acquaint the 
Admiralty when you find you can consistently order 
any ships to St. Helens from Spithead; observing 
that you had so done in consequence of my instruc¬ 
tions, of which you will send a copy. If the Board 
disapproves of such disposition of the ships, apprized, 
as they will be, of the temporary separation to which 
they may be liable, their counter orders will dis¬ 
charge me from reproach, and exempt me from being 


IX.] 


COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 


301 


again subject to the little flippancy of expression, as 
in a letter sent at the time, on the subject of similar 
instructions before given, representing it as being a 
matter on which I was myself to determine in virtue 
of my station.” His lordship is decidedly averse from 
keeping ships at sea in all weathers, blockading a 
port from which, he observes, “ the enemy can always 
be in readiness to escape after a gale of wind, by 
which the blockading squadron has been driven off 
and dispersed, the ships much damaged in their 
masts, sails, and rigging, and their crews disheart¬ 
ened and disgusted.” He again observes, “ I have 
often had occasion to explain to principals, that an 
enemy is not to be restrained from putting to sea by 
a station taken off their port with a barely superior 
fleet.” Lord St. Vincent’s opinion was, that no 
blockade could be efficient without anchoring. 

It is obvious, from his correspondence, that Lord 
Howe, at this period, perceived a feeling of dis¬ 
content to have recently crept into the minds of the 
seamen, and he does not scruple to lay the blame 
on the captains, who kept their men as prisoners 
on board, when they came into harbour, while they 
themselves spent a great part of their time on shore, 
leaving the command of their ships to subordinate 
officers. So far back as the end of 1794, Lord Howe 
thus writes :—“ I hope the disturbance on board the 
Culloden will have been happily, as I conceive it 
ought to be, firmly resisted. The means, I am con- 


302 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

scious, are delicate in execution; but I can hardly 
imagine consequences more necessary to be guarded 
against than those not unlikely to be expected from 
the introduction of delegates amongst us.” 

It appears that a letter, signed “A Delegate,” 
was addressed to Lord Bridport, then second in com¬ 
mand (Lord Howe being absent), which stated that 
the ship’s company, a great part of whom were in a 
state of mutiny, would surrender on the following 
propositions :—“ A new ship, or the old one docked, 
or all the people at present between decks draughted 
on board of different ships, or as your lordship shall 
think proper; and your lordship’s word and honour 
not to punish any man concerned in the present 
business, or to mention or remember it hereafter.” 
Captain Troubridge however had applied for a court- 
martial on ten of the ringleaders; of whom two were 
acquitted, and eight sentenced to be hanged by the 
neck. The word delegate was rather alarming, but 
it evidently appeared that the mutiny was solely oc¬ 
casioned by the apprehension of the Culloden’s un¬ 
seaworthiness, in consequence of her having been 
aground. 

While his lordship again expresses his great sa¬ 
tisfaction at the intelligence of the result of Lord 
Bridport’s action of the 23rd of June, he states his 
apprehension that the three prizes, taken in tow 
by the 90-gun ships, would be with difficulty and 
some danger worked out of the bay. The Queen 


IX.] 


COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 


303 


Charlotte bore her part in the action most nobly, and 
though but incidentally mentioned by Lord Bridport, 
she had more men killed and wounded than any other 
ship of his squadron. She was still commanded by 
Lord Howe’s brave captain, Sir A. Douglas, of whose 
conduct Bowen writes in terms of the highest praise. 
In fact, the extraordinary exertions of Sir A. Douglas 
in working the Queen Charlotte, the rearmost ship 
in the squadron in the evening, when the French 
fleet were seen, till she became the leading ship in 
the morning, obtained universal praise. Labouring 
under severe illness, occasioned by the wound in the 
head on the 1st of June, he remained on deck the 
whole night, taking advantage of every little breeze 
of wind, trimming the sails, conning the ship, until, 
to the admiration of all, she was seen at day-break 
taking the lead to engage the enemy. “ It ap¬ 
pears,” says Lord Howe, “they have had a very 
sharp set-to—and when I advert to the disregard 
of him (Douglas) in the official letter, it is with con¬ 
cern I see that the truly brave should not be equally 
memorable for their liberality.” But there was no 
liberality, nor even common courtesy, observed by 
Lord Bridport towards Earl Howe, or any of his 
followers. He says, in his dispatch, that the three 
prizes were with difficulty retained; but, owing to a 
mean and paltry jealousy, he does not say one word 
how mainly instrumental the Queen Charlotte was 
in first capturing and then securing them. But the 


304 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [dl. 

strange conduct of Lord Bridport will be explained 
hereafter. 

On the 9th of September 1795, Howe again ex¬ 
presses his uneasiness on the subject of further dis¬ 
satisfaction manifested by seamen in the fleet, and 
particularly of some disturbances in the Ceesar. “ I 
am sorry,” he says, “ for the appearances of discon¬ 
tent shown in the Caesar. A letter of complaint, it 
is true, might be written, as if on the part of many, 
though the dissatisfaction existed only in but few. 
No cause for uneasiness having been acknowledged 
on the inquiry, I don’t agree in the policy of the 
measure of removing numbers of men to other ships 
—a measure which exposes their former captain to 
the imputation of misconduct, while it gratifies the 
desire of (perhaps misbehaving) men to change their 
situation, without assurance of just pretensions to 
such indulgence.” His lordship might have gone 
further, and urged the impolicy of infecting other 
ships by the introduction of discontented or mis¬ 
chievous men among their crews. 

Towards the close of the year 1795, a discussion 
arose between the Admiralty and the Horse Guards, 
“whether officers belonging to his Majesty’s land 
forces, whilst borne on the books of his Majesty’s 
ships and doing duty as marines, are amenable to 
naval courts-martial for offences committed on board 
such ships.” The case arose from a Lieutenant 
Fitzgerald, of the 12th regiment, being dismissed, by 


IX.] 


COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 


305 


sentence of a naval court-martial, from his Majesty’s 
service, “ for having behaved with contempt to Cap¬ 
tain Tyler, of the Diadem, when in the execution of 
his duty.” 

The Duke of York demurred to the sentence, and 
had the officer restored. He denied the right of 
a naval court-martial to try a military officer. The 
admirals took up the question, on the high ground 
that naval discipline absolutely required, and the 
law expressly sanctioned, that any person serving in 
the fleet, and on full pay, was amenable to naval 
courts-martial. Lord St. Vincent expressed his 
opinion most strongly on this point, in which he was 
joined by Lord Howe, Lord Hugh Seymour, and 
many other flag-officers. The Duke of York had 
obtained from his Majesty an additional article to 
be inserted in the military instructions, which was 
so strongly remonstrated against, as destructive of all 
naval discipline, and, as the admirals said, of the navy 
itself, that it was recalled and modified by his Royal 
Highness, which induced Lord Howe to recommend 
moderation. He says, <f I am much grieved to be 
under a necessity to say that I could not, if present, 
(at a meeting of flag-officers,) have concurred in the 
terms of those representations, fully as I join in 
opinion with the admirals on the just construction 
of our existing naval laws ; more especially after a 
modification of the exception aide circumstances in 
the instructions, which had been issued, was pro- 


x 


306 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH- 


fessed to be impending. It strikes me that the de¬ 
termination should have been waited for, and I own 
I fear very many undesirable consequences, in a great 
disunion of the two professional corps, may ensue 
from so public and general a discontent as has been 
on one side expressed; when also I hear that, on the 
other, little less jealousy and ill-humour are avowed. 
What the event might be I confess I was at a loss to 
devise; of such magnitude do the evils of the discus¬ 
sion, in the form it has now taken, appear to me. 
More wisdom than I am gifted with is requisite to 
re-establish the concord which, until very lately, sub¬ 
sisted between the two corps.” 

On the following day, he says, “ I sincerely hope 
that the revocation of the instruction issued by the 
Duke of York may prevent all those baneful conten¬ 
tions, which you will have seen, by my letter of yester¬ 
day’s date, I apprehended would ensue from a dis¬ 
union between the two corps, and which I still fear 
can only be prevented by a discontinuance of the ser¬ 
vice of the troops in lieu of marines.” Earl Howe 
saw T the question in its true light, and from this time 
forward soldiers ceased to be employed as marines in 
the fleet. 

The Duke of York, however, behaved with becom¬ 
ing regard and deference to the navy on this unplea¬ 
sant occasion; he proposed to Lord Spencer to have 
the conduct of the officer submitted to a military 
court-martial; he suggested, also, whether an army 


IX.] 


COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 


30 ? 


officer misbehaving on board a ship of war might not 
be placed under arrest, and tried at home or abroad 
before a military tribunal; but as neither of these 
proposals were considered admissible, he submitted 
the following case to the law-officers of the Crown:— 

“ Whether officers belonging to his Majesty’s land 
forces, whilst borne on the books of his Majesty’s 
ships, and doing the duty of marines, are amenable to 
naval courts-martial for offences committed on board 
such ships? 

“ We are of opinion that there are some offences, 
specified in 22 Geo. II., c. 33, for the commission of 
which, officers belonging to his Majesty’s land forces, 
whilst borne on the books of his Majesty’s ships, 
and doing duty as marines, are, in common with all 
other persons in the fleet, amenable to naval courts- 
martial ; although we do not think, upon such expla¬ 
nation as has been given us of the authority under 
which they are put on board, and are borne upon the 
books and do duty, that such officers can be considered 
as marine forces, or that they are punishable by naval 
courts-martial in any other character than that of 
persons in the fleet. 

(Signed by) 

“ William Scott, William Battine, 

John Scott, Spencer Perceval” 

On this opinion being sent to the Admiralty, they 
desired it might be referred back to the Crown lawyers 
for their further consideration and explanation, “ as 

x 2 


308 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


the opinions already given by them are neither dis¬ 
tinct in principle, nor satisfactory with respect to the 
particular case to which they were intended to apply.” 

After a long preamble and explanation, not much 
to the purpose, they state their opinion, “ that officers 
and soldiers of his Majesty’s land forces, when doing 
duty in his Majesty’s ships as marines, cannot be 
considered as persons in fall 'pay in his Majesty s 
fleet within the meaning of the 4th section of the 
Act, the pay intended in that clause being, as we 
think, naval pay only , and, therefore, that land forces 
are not amenable to naval courts-martial; and as 
Lieutenant Fitzgerald was not in full pay in the 
fleet , he was not liable to be tried by naval court- 
martial. 

(This opinion is signed by) 

“ William Scotty John Mitfordy 
William Battiney Spencer Perceval .” 

Under such nice and subtile distinctions, it was 
found that the only chance of preserving the disci¬ 
pline of the navy was, to get rid of soldiers altogether 
serving as marines in the fleet. Lord Howe, in the 
plain and honest simplicity of his heart, expresses his 
astonishment that the same men, in the same month, 
should subscribe their names to two opinions, if not in 
direct contradiction, at least inconsistent with each 
other. It is evident that his Lordship had not, in the 
course of his long service, had much to do with 
lawyers. 


IX.] 


COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 


309 


On the 7th of January 1796, Lord Howe writes 
from Porter’s Lodge a long letter on the subject of 
the instructions for captains, which in his opinion 
required pruning in many parts, “ but it is too long 
since I occupied that station, to satisfy myself that 
the few notes I have made upon them, on a cursory 
perusal, are at all complete.” And in speaking of 
the selection of certain officers to be appointed to his 
ships, which it would seem had not been complied 
with, he says, “ Upon the whole, my gratification on 
this point seems of little moment; ”—and he adds, in 
a strain of great humility, “ To have the favourable 
opinion of our brethren, I esteem one of the most 
grateful honours to be obtained. But the views of 
things and ideas of a man, at my time of life, are 
so different from those of younger men, placed in 
directive situations, who feel (in their powers to 
enforce their sentiments) an ample justification for 
their adherence to them; and I am so peculiarly cir¬ 
cumstanced in other respects, that I daily confirm 
myself in the assurance, that seventy years of age, 
upon which I so nearly verge, is not at all too soon 
to think of voluntary retirement; thus preceding the 
call, which may be daily expected, of the public, to 
quit a situation requiring better constitutional, as 
well as mental, faculties than I can boast.” 

No decay, however, in his mental faculties is, up 
to this time, discoverable in any part of his correspond¬ 
ence ; and soon after this he was called upon to act 


310 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

on an occasion which proved that, though his consti¬ 
tution was weak, his mind was still vigorous. Indeed, 
we find it busily employed on passing events, and 
more particularly on everything regarding the navy, 
its ships, its officers, and its seamen, with the most 
lively interest. The frequency of courts-martial, he 
truly observes, causes a great interruption to very 
important concerns at the ports of outfit, and he 
considers it a matter of regret that a maritime juris¬ 
diction could not be established in the river to take 
cognizance of ordinary misdemeanors. He is rather 
desponding of public affairs, from the taint which 
the country seems to have received from the French 
Revolution, but avows himself to be only a shallow 
politician, not however without anxieties which, he 
says, “ an enfeebled constitution renders more im¬ 
pressive, when exertion should supersede regret.” 
He ventures, at the same time, to pass a criticism on 
Burke’s celebrated letter. “ It has not,” he observes, 
“ appeared to me so much a subject of admiration, 
as it seems the fashion to speak of it here in town. 
The brightness of his imagination is undoubtedly 
evident in many parts; but I do not like his high 
estimation of his own services, which are represented 
as if almost above reward; nor the enforcement of 
the Duke of Bedford’s ancestors’ demerits, in compa¬ 
rison with himself, as a ground for depreciating the 
duke. Neither do the disinterested assurances of a 
professed politician weigh so much with me, as of 


IX.] COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 311 

many other characters reduced to a similar necessity 
to offer a justification of their conduct.” 

On the decease of Admiral Forbes, in March 
1796, Earl Howe was appointed general of marines. 
“ This,” he says, “ alters my brevet power in the 
flag we have sailed under since 1790 ; having gained 
it, however, by the least eligible of all titles—that 
of age and survivorship—in a state not much more 
active than that of my predecessor. My office of 
Vice-Admiral of England, I am given to understand, 
is to be withdrawn from me; though, in fact, the 
patent which confers it empowers the tenant to exer¬ 
cise a supreme authority over all (union flag included) 
the navies and seas of England , whenever the Sove¬ 
reign, or Lord High Admiral, or Commissioners of 
the Admiralty, may think fit to authorize the Vice- 
Admiral of England (the Lieutenant or Deputy) to 
assume such exercise of its powers.” 

The offices of Vice and Rear-Admiral of Great 
Britain are not of modern date, nor the patents uni¬ 
form in their terms of tenure. The Duke of York, 
in 1660, gave a commission of Vice-Admiral to the 
Earl of Sandwich for life. In 1672, he appointed 
by patent Prince Rupert to be Vice-Admiral; and 
on his death, in 1682, lie was succeeded by the Duke 
of Grafton. At the Revolution, Admiral Herbert, 
who had been Rear-Admiral in 1683, was made 
Vice-Admiral. In 1687, King James appointed Sir 
Richard Strickland Rear-Admiral; and in 1704, the 


312 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

Prince of Denmark gave a commission of Rear-Ad¬ 
miral of England to Sir Cloudesley Shovel; since 
which time, these honorary distinctions appear to 
have been conferred on the most distinguished and 
meritorious officers of the navy. 

Lord Howe has estimated the powers of this officer 
(the Vice-Admiral) correctly, but he has not stated 
that the possibility might occur of his being obliged 
to assume them. The contingency might, indeed, 
have happened in our time. If a Lord High Admiral 
should die while in office, his council from that mo¬ 
ment are functi officio , and consequently incapacitated 
from doing a single act. Who then, it may be asked, 
is to perform the current and constant duties of the 
Admiralty in the mean time, during the preparation 
of a new patent ? 

This question has been mooted, and the opinion 
held is, that the “Vice-Admiral of Great Britain 
and Lieutenant of the Admiralty thereof’ is the 
proper person, on the demise of the Lord High Ad¬ 
miral, to step, ad interim , into his place; and that it 
would become his duty to do so ; and, in his absence, 
the Rear-Admiral would be the person. Thus viewed, 
a case might happen in which these offices would 
not, strictly speaking, be considered sinecures, though, 
in point of fact, and in the literal acceptation of the 
word, they are so. But they are not, as sinecure 
offices generally have been, obtained by purchase or 
by favour, but have always been conferred as hono- 


IX.] COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 313 

rary distinctions for good and meritorious and, where 
it could be done, for brilliant and distinguished services. 

These considerations, given in evidence before the 
Sinecure Committee, (and the scanty salaries, per¬ 
haps, that of the Vice being 434/., and of the Rear 
342/.,) saved the two ancient and honourable offices 
of Vice-Admiral and Rear-Admiral of Great Britain 
from that fate, which befel the Generals and Colonels 
of Marines, and which being modern and, it must be 
admitted, useless appointments, (except as rewards for 
distinguished naval services,) were less leniently dealt 
with. 

On the 17th of April 1796, Lord Howe was or¬ 
dered down to Portsmouth to preside at a court-mar 
tial, to try the Honourable Vice-Admiral Cornwallis, 
on charges preferred against him, by the Admiralty, 
of disobedience of orders. 

The facts were these:—On proceeding to the West 
Indies in the Royal Sovereign, in command of a 
squadron, the flag-ship ran foul of the Bellisarius 
troop ship, and so disabled herself as to render her 
return to Spithead necessary. 

This step taken by the Vice-Admiral was consider¬ 
ed contrary to orders, which implied, at least, though 
not expressed, that he ought to have shifted his flag 
into one of the other ships: moreover, after his re¬ 
turn he is accused of disobedience, in not proceeding 
in the Astrea frigate as ordered; and two charges 
are accordingly preferred against him. The court 


314 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

consisted of ten flag-officers and three captains. 
Their sentence was that, for inattention to the orders 
he had received, misconduct was imputable to him , in 
not having shifted his flag to the Mars or Minotaur; 
hut in consideration of circumstances, the court ac¬ 
quitted him of any disobedience in his conduct on 
that occasion; and with respect to his having dis¬ 
obeyed the orders of the Admiralty by not going.in 
the Astrea frigate,—they found the charge not proved, 
qnd, therefore, acquitted him. 

Lord Howe regretted very much that the Admi- 
ij D . 

ralty should have thought it necessary to take this 
step, having a very high opinion of Cornwallis’s 
character, and being an ardent admirer of the gallant 
encounter which, in the preceding year, his little 
squadron of five sail of the line and two frigates had 
with a French fleet of thirteen line-of-battle ships 
and fourteen frigates. “Not having,” he says, “yet 
seen the charge, I cannot form any opinion as to the 
mode of proceeding. The order for the Admiral to 
put to sea immediately in the frigate implies a dere¬ 
liction of the strong ground for disapprobation— f the 
not proceeding in one of the line-of-battle ships under 
his orders.’ If, on the other side, a refusal to embark 
in the frigate, after he was so directed, is the basis of 
the charge, it seems at present to me, that his letter 
to the Board, in which the refusal is expressed, con¬ 
tains all the requisite proofs thereof.” On this occa¬ 
sion, Lord Howe affords an instance of his precision 


IX.] 


COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 


315 


in minute matters. “ I think the dress,” he says, 
<f in which they (the admirals) attend the King at 
St. James’s would be consistently descriptive of their 
character on any other service, and sufficiently appro¬ 
priate on this occasion. I shall, therefore, only bring 
with me my half-dress uniform; but if I could be 
informed in time, I would wear the new or the old 
frock, as would be most consonant with the dress 
which only could be worn by the other admirals.” 

In June 1796, when at Bath, Lord Howe had 
some conversation with Lord Spencer on the subject 
of the medals given, or to be given, in consequence 
of the actions of the 29th of May and the 1st of 
June; and from him he understood it was then de¬ 
cidedly meant to extend the institution of a Naval 
Order for military services, which would require 
some little further delay, in order to regulate the in¬ 
signia. This meditated extension however of medals 
would appear to have been abandoned. The unne¬ 
cessary delay in gratifying those who were to receive 
them had just a contrary effect, and created no little 
disgust. The dispensers of favours, in this our go¬ 
vernment departments, seem little mindful of the old 
Latin adage, Bis dat qui cito dat. Something of this 
feeling of displeasure among the officers may be col¬ 
lected from the following extract of a letter from 
Lord Howe, dated the 28th of March 1797, nearly 
three years after the battle for which the medal was 
ordered to be given :— 


316 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

“ Since the change of weather I think I acquire 
more strength; insomuch that I purpose paying my 
duty at St. James’s next Friday, in discharge of the 
required acknowledgment, by kissing hands on the re¬ 
ceipt of the medal. But I am much at a loss to acquit 
myself properly, if the Chapter for the Garter is soon 
to follow : I can fall upon my knees (but more rea¬ 
dily to the ground) as the ceremony requires. Lord 
Spencer might as well have left your appointments to 
stand, as they were expressed upon the medal. With 
such attention however to minutiae of that sort, it is 
a misfortune, in my opinion, that he has not seen the 
propriety and benefit, which an extension of similar 
honours would have produced if conferred on the 
captains of frigates, who have so exemplarily distin¬ 
guished themselves by their conduct , as well as 
bravery, on various occasions. 

“ It appears to have been insinuated, in a quarter 
where one would least expect that a doubt should 
be entertained, that the officers at Portsmouth slight 
the institution of that honorary badge. In what 
manner that disregard is professed to be shown, I 
know not, any more than I do the authors of the 
report. But to testify my deference for the gracious 
intention, I mean to wear mine in common, when 
dressed for the day, alike without as with my naval 
uniform. Of this perhaps I may hear more when I 
have been able to leave my house, which I have not 
quitted since I came to town; and I hope to collect 


IX.] COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 317 

what was meant concerning the chain, wherein I am 
at present under some uncertainty. The officers con¬ 
cerned in the Spanish victory of the 14th of February 
being to have the medal, it becomes a question of 
some import whether they are to have the chain also. 
I design to wear mine at a venture next Friday ; but 
inquiry into these matters seems too minute a subject 
to pursue at a time when we have so many serious 
attentions to interest us.” 

To proceed to the narrative of events connected 
with the Earl’s command of the year 1796. On 
the 7th July he writes thus to his constant cor¬ 
respondent :—“ You are very kind in your consider¬ 
ation of me, under the circumstances alluded to in 
my last. Still very much an invalid, and divested of 
that ministerial countenance by which the exercise of 
my authority in the fleet can only derive support, you 
will less disapprove my earnestness (yet but privately 
intimated) to be released from my important charge. 
When arrived, moreover, at the time of life that 
men’s faculties become impaired, it is of prudence to 
quit the public world before its good opinion is with¬ 
drawn entirely, and the foundation of our consequence 
in it destroyed. To that intimation, however, it was 
not condescended to make any reply; and I know 
not yet, whether I am considered in the light of a 
person allowed to seek for quiet in retirement, or 
subject to the requisitions as heretofore, when the call 
is made upon me to resume my official employment.” 


318 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

From the whole of his correspondence, however, it 
is quite clear that, desirous as he might be of relin¬ 
quishing all command, his mind was fully and con¬ 
stantly occupied with the concerns of the fleet; his 
great pleasure being to hear that matters were going 
on well, and more especially in his favourite ship the 
Charlotte, still under the command of his old captain 
Sir A. Douglas. “ The letters,” he says, “ I have 
received from you since you left Spithead give me the 
satisfaction of knowing you are going on well. The 
order which you inform me prevailed, and the atten¬ 
tion to the training of the ships while under Sir Allan 
Gardner, gave me great pleasure, and promises very 
essentially to the polish of our fleets. You need not 
to have also told me that it has been since continued, 
otherwise than as the season of the year has afforded 
opportunities not unfavourable for evolutions.” But 
while his mind is thus occupied his infirmities press 
heavily upon him. “ Of myself,” he says, “ I cannot 
speak more advantageously than heretofore; as I 
cannot get the weakness in my feet and ancles re¬ 
moved. If tepid bathing, now my object to try, has 
not that effect, I shall look upon my infirmities as 
established for life ; and I shall then be only to know, 
not to witness, the abilities you will exhibit in an 
independent and directive capacity, which my judg¬ 
ment assures me will also obtain public acknowledg¬ 
ment.” 

In the autumn of 1796, and the commencement of 


IX.] 


COMMANDS WESTERN FLEET. 


319 


1797, Lord Howe remained at Bath, for the benefit 
of the waters ; but about the end of January, he says, 
“ The being yet only able to walk across my room 
three or four times on my crutches, at intervals, is 
the utmost of my advancement, though all feverish 
symptoms have for some weeks ceased; I cannot, 
therefore, at present judge for what time I may be 
longer detained at this place.” But whether at Bath, 
Grafton-street, or Porter’s—whether in a tolerable 
state of health, or debilitated by gout—the navy and 
naval subjects are ever uppermost in his mind. It 
was at Bath he first heard of the victory obtained Ijy 
Sir John Jems over the Spanish fleet off Cape St. 
Vincent, and on the 4th of March writes as follows :— 
"We have this moment received here the account of 
Sir John Jervis’s very splendid victory over the 
Spanish fleet. It certainly cannot be too highly 
spoken of. But I hope it will not lull us into a 
neglect of those attentions which our immediate in¬ 
terests near home require; but, on the contrary, 
stimulate us to an imitation of the activity of that 
very distinguished admiral and his most gallant asso¬ 
ciates, on a still more important occasion.” His ob¬ 
servations on that victory have already been noticed. 

Thus, whether in sickness or in health, was his mind 
sensibly alive to all naval transactions; his hours of 
confinement were passed in perfecting the code of 
signals and naval tactics, and instructions to the cap¬ 
tains for the internal discipline of their ships. But 


320 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

although fully competent to receive and examine all 
returns from the subordinate admirals under his 
command, and to issue the necessary orders that 
might be required thereon, which were usually given 
in his own hand-writing, and which, it is remark¬ 
able, never varied under any circumstances ; yet it 
is evident, from the following extract of a letter of 
the 9th of May, dated from Grafton-street, that he 
did not feel quite at ease in holding his office of 
commander-in-chief on shore any longer, and that, 
in fact, he had finally resigned it some days be¬ 
fore :—“ The uncertainty when you may receive this 
prevents me from replying now to the several in¬ 
quiries in your letter, further than with respect to my 
resignation of my late command. Not being in such 
a state of constitutional health and use of my feet, as 
to be able to resume my station in the command of 
the fleet, it became necessary to make other provi¬ 
sions (and certainly much better than I could boast) 
for the suitable direction of it.” He was accordingly 
superseded in the command of the Channel fleet by 
Admiral Lord Bridport. 



X.] 


THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797 . 


321 


CHAPTER X. 

THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797. 

The year 1797 pregnant with mutiny in the fleet—Distinguished 
also for two general and various single actions—Lord Howe re¬ 
ceives petitions from several ships—Sends them to the Admiralty 
—Writes to Portsmouth—Mutiny breaks out there—The Board of 
Admiralty proceeds thither—Returns re infecta —Proceedings of 
government seem to be satisfactory to the men—Mutiny breaks 
out again—Lord Howe requested to go down—Visits the ships— 
Confers with the delegates in the Queen Charlotte—Exacts con¬ 
ditions from them, before he interferes—Terminates their discon¬ 
tents satisfactorily—Consents to the removal of certain officers 
from their ships, a sine qua non on the part of the crews—List of 
the numbers of officers removed—Letter to the Duke of Portland— 
Mutiny at the Nore—In Lord Duncan’s fleet—In Lord St. Vin¬ 
cent’s, off Cadiz—Prompt and decisive measures of his Lordship 
put a stop to it—Mutiny at the Cape—Decisive measures of Lord 
Macartney and Admiral Pringle—Improved condition of the sea¬ 
men of the navy. 


The year 1797 may be distinguished in naval annals 
as a year pregnant with mutiny in the fleets, both at 
home and abroad. In looking over the list of courts- 
martial for that year, it appears that no less than 
seventy-nine were held in the different squadrons and 
ships for mutiny and mutinous behaviour alone, some 
on individuals singly, others on combinations. In this 
year also occurred that most horrible mutiny in, and 
piratical seizure of, his Majesty’s ship Hermione, com- 

Y 


322 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

manded by Captain Pigot, which was carried by the 
mutineers into La Guira, after murdering the cap¬ 
tain, the three lieutenants, purser, surgeon, lieutenant 
of marines, and three inferior officers. But this year 
was distinguished also by the two gallant actions of 
Sir John Jervis, off Cape St. Vincent, and Admiral 
Duncan, off the Texel; and a great number of single 
conflicts in various parts of the globe, which ter¬ 
minated with brilliant success. 

When the first disturbance and insubordination of 
the crews broke out in the Channel fleet, it was 
looked upon as an event more awful and alarming 
than any that perhaps had ever occurred in the naval 
history of Great Britain; the more alarming, as the 
combined energies of the nation, which had never 
failed in the critical moment of danger, must have 
been, on this momentous occasion, palsied and un¬ 
availing, had not the plague been stayed in time. In 
this pressing extremity the services of Lord Howe 
were put in requisition; and it is only because his 
name is intimately connected with the commencement 
and termination of this eventful history, that a general 
view of the transactions is introduced into the present 
work. We have seen him, in the early part of this 
year, confined to his room at Bath, and walking on 
crutches, which he was enabled only to throw away 
by the end of March. Yet, thus enfeebled to a 
degree that determined him to relinquish all com¬ 
mand of the fleet, such was the high opinion enter- 


X.] THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797. 323 

tained, both by the King and the government, of the 
influence he possessed over the officers and men of 
the navy, that recourse was had to his assistance in 
this moment of impending danger, though at that 
time he had actually resigned all naval command. 
He at once, notwithstanding, obeyed the call, and, 
though unable to boast of a mens sana in corpore 
sano , yet his mind was as sound, his heart as whole, 
and his intellects as clear, as at any previous period 
of his life. The first application he received was 
from the seamen themselves: he had long been con¬ 
sidered as the seamen’s friend, and to him, therefore, 
it was very natural they should first submit their case. 

On the 4th of March 1797, being then at Bath 
for the benefit of the waters, he says, “ I have re¬ 
ceived, within the last three days, four petitions, as 
they are termed, as coming from the Royal George, 
Formidable, Ramillies, and Queen Charlotte , the 
purport of them to solicit my interposition with the 
Admiralty that the seamen may, in their turn, ex¬ 
perience an equal act of munificence as that shown 
to the army and militia, in the provision made for an 
increase to their pay, and for their wives and families; 
alleging that the last could only obtain such relief as 
the seamen themselves sent them out of their pay. 
The petitions from the three last-mentioned ships, 
dated the 28th of last month, are I think evidently 
copied by the same person, though the writing ap¬ 
pears different on a cursory inspection. Neither the 

y 2 


321 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

motive nor the matter of these papers require any 
comment; but I shall take them with me to town, 
when I return thither, for Lord Spencer’s private in¬ 
formation. I suspect the whole of them to be the 
fabrication of the same individual. Should it prove 
otherwise, or that the idea of such pursuit should have 
been adopted by communication of the purpose to the 
different ships’ companies, it may require some such 
explanation as the difference of the circumstances 
between the soldier and the seaman admits of, to 
prove to the latter that his advantages are still more 
considerable than the precarious situation admits of 
being extended to the former. But the wisdom of 
the Admiralty will best decide hereon. To which, 
however, it seems material to know, whether such 
expectations or claims appear to have been very ge¬ 
nerally circulated in the ships of war.” 

The Earl, in the mean time, thought it right to 
ascertain, if possible, the real state of the case, and 
for this purpose wrote to Sir Peter Parker, the port- 
admiral, and to Lord Bridport, then in command of 
the fleet, and received in reply the opinion that both 
the petitions were the work of some ill-disposed per¬ 
son : in consequence of this, no danger was appre¬ 
hended either by Lord Howe or Lord Spencer. It 
soon afterwards however appeared, that there had 
been for some time before a regular organised plan, 
should these petitions be disregarded, for taking the 
several ships from the command of the officers, who 


X.] 


THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797. 


325 


were still most unaccountably ignorant of what was 
going on. The Admiralty remained equally igno¬ 
rant until the 12th of April, when they were in¬ 
formed by Sir Peter Parker that intelligence had 
been communicated to him of a plan, concerted by 
the seamen, to take the command of the ships from 
the officers, which was to be carried into execution on 
the 16th of that month. Immediately on the receipt 
of this information orders were sent down, by tele¬ 
graph, for the ships to proceed forthwith to sea. 
Admiral Lord Bridport, in consequence of these 
orders, made the signal to prepare for sailing; on 
which, almost immediately, the seamen mounted on 
the rigging of every ship, and loud cheers passed 
through the fleet. This act of insubordination was 
followed by another still more daring—that of taking 
all command from the officers; then choosing two 
delegates in each ship, who were sent on board the 
Queen Charlotte, where they held a council in the 
great cabin of Lord Howe ; and orders were there 
written out and issued to all the ships, that the seamen 
were required to take oaths of fidelity to the cause. 

These delegates, acting in a better and legitimate 
cause, would have been entitled to every praise for 
their moderation, and for the resolution they passed 
and kept, to maintain order, to enforce sobriety, and 
to pay all due respect to the officers from whom they 
had taken the command. To ensure this effectually^ 
they caused yard-ropes to be reeved at the main and 


326 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

fore yard-arms of each ship, to inspire terror, though 
they had no occasion to use them, except for ducking 
minor delinquents in the sea. They held their ap¬ 
pointed meetings in Lord Howe’s state-cabin, and 
the usual military honours were paid to them when¬ 
ever they went over the side. They inflicted corporal 
punishment on all who got drunk, or who would 
have incurred such punishment in the usual course of 
the service. They allowed all frigates with convoys 
to sail, in order that the commerce of the country 
should sustain no injury. 

In this state of things it was deemed expedient that 
a Board of Admiralty should proceed to Portsmouth; 
to which place Lord Spencer, Lord Arden, and Rear- 
Admiral Young, with Mr. Secretary Marsden, went 
on the 37th; and on the 18th, after a long discussion 
with Lord Bridport, Sir Allan Gardner, Colpoys, 
Pole, and Halloway, in which they all represented, 
in the strongest and most decided manner, that it was 
absolutely and unavoidably necessary to concede, and 
to grant them something like the terms demanded, 
certain additional allowances of pay were agreed by 
the Board to be offered to them,—namely, 4s. to 
able, 3s. to ordinary, and 2s. to landmen, per month, 
in addition to their ordinary pay. An Order to this 
effect was given to Lord Bridport to be carried to 
the Royal Charlotte by Gardner, Colpoys, and Pole. 
The only answer on the part of the delegates was, 
that the proposal should be taken into consideration. 


X.] 


THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797. 


327 


and their determination transmitted the following 
morning. Admiral Gardner, a high-minded and gal¬ 
lant officer, lost his temper in the discussion with the 
delegates, and seizing one of them by the collar, 
swore he would have them all hanged; but he was 
pacified by his brother-officers. Lord Spencer, it 
seems, was very urgent that the Board should con¬ 
sent to his going on board the Queen Charlotte, and 
trying what effect his personal remonstrance and ex¬ 
hortation might have on the men; but this was unani¬ 
mously objected to by the Board, as placing too im¬ 
portant a stake in the hands of mutineers, who might 
then dictate their own terms ; and that, at any rate, it 
would be derogatory for the First Lord of the Admi¬ 
ralty to enter into any personal discussion with them. 
Indeed, when the answer arrived, rejecting the terms 
offered, and proposing others, the Board judged it not 
only derogatory, but inexpedient, to continue longer 
at Portsmouth, parleying with them on the spot, and 
thus affording them the opportunity of making new 
conditions. They therefore left the place, and on the 
21st proceeded to London, re infecta. 

The demands, however, of the seamen were so rea¬ 
sonable, that it was deemed expedient and indeed 
an act of justice, to concede them, and Lord Brid- 
port was authorised to make them acquainted there¬ 
with ; but still they were not satisfied. In thanking 
the Lords of the Admiralty for complying with their 
demands with regard to an increase of pay, they add: 
“ But we beg leave to remind your Lordships, that 


328 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

it is a firm resolution, that until the flour in port be 
removed, the vegetables and pensions augmented, the 
grievances of private ships redressed, an Act passed, 
and His Majesty’s most gracious pardon for the fleet 
now lying at Spithead be granted, the fleet will 
not lift an anchor ; and this is the total and final 
answer.” These points being also conceded, another 
difficulty arose. The Board was told the delegates 
insisted, that they would not take the words of the 
Lords of the Admiralty for the pardon; and it there¬ 
fore became necessary to advise his Majesty to grant 
it under his sign manual. A proclamation was agreed 
to by the Government, despatched from Windsor, and 
sent from thence to Portsmouth without delay. It 
was read on board the several ships, and received 
with three cheers. The Queen Charlotte’s people, 
however, with the delegates on board, insisted upon 
seeing the original instrument, which fortunately had 
been sent down with the printed copies; and upon 
this, the insignia of rebellion were struck, and the 
crews declared themselves ready to perform what¬ 
ever their officers should command them; and the 
first act of their obedience was, to proceed with a 
division of the fleet to St. Helens. 

Matters being thus settled, it was hoped nothing 
more would be heard of the discontents in the fleet; 
but a fatality seems to have attended the proceedings 
of the Government. In the House of Lords, the 
ministers deprecated any mention of the disorders in 
the fleet; and Lord Spencer declared he was not 


X.] 


THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797. 


329 


aware of any message likely to come before them on 
the subject. Mr. Pitt had made a motion for a sup¬ 
ply to increase the wages of seamen. The conversa¬ 
tion in the Lords, and the delay which took place in 
the Commons, produced a fresh irritation in the 
suspicious minds of the seamen. They concluded 
there was, at least, some hesitation in fulfilling the 
promises that had been made to them; and they 
clamoured loudly for their being sanctioned by an 
Act of Parliament. 

But this was not all. The Board of Admiralty 
issued an order, bearing date the 1st of May, to the 
admirals and captains of the fleet, which contained 
paragraphs highly injudicious, and calculated to 
increase the suspicion of the seamen. It stated that, 
“ from the disposition lately shown by the seamen 
belonging to several of his Majesty’s ships, it had 
become highly necessary that the strictest attention 
should be paid by all officers in his Majesty’s service, 
not only to their own conduct, but to the conduct of 
those who may be under their orders ; the more 
effectually to ensure a proper subordination and dis¬ 
cipline, and to prevent, as far as may be, all discon¬ 
tent among the seamen.” Unnecessary as this was, 
at any time, as both Articles of War and Instructions 
enjoin it, such an Order, at this particular moment, 
reflecting on the conduct of both officers and men 
was, to say the least of it, indiscreet and inexpedient. 
But what follows is still more so. It introduces a 
new Instruction for all captains of his Majesty’s 


330 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


ships ec To see that the arms and ammunition belong¬ 
ing to the marines be constantly kept in good order, 
and fit for immediate service, as well in harbour as 
at sea.” This was evidently pointed at the employ¬ 
ment of marines to quell any mutinous movement 
among the seamen; and lest they should not so un¬ 
derstand it, the following paragraph was added— 
“That the captains and commanders of his Majesty’s 
ships be particularly attentive to the conduct of the 
men under their command ; and that they be ready, 
on the first appearance of mutiny, to use the most 
vigorous means to suppress it, and to bring the ring¬ 
leaders to punishment.” 

This offensive order, for it could not be considered 
in any other light both by officers and men, is the 
more remarkable, as being issued from a Board who 
had condescended, not many days before, to enter 
into discussion with the refractory seamen, to make 
concessions to them, and to give promises which had 
not yet been fulfilled. The consequence was, that 
coupling what was mentioned in the Lords, and the 
delay, which they did not comprehend, in the Com¬ 
mons, and the promulgation of this Order, a second 
mutiny broke out on the 7th of May in the ships at 
St. Helens and Spithead; those in the former place 
acting in concert as before, appointing delegates, 
cheering, and taking command of the fleet from their 
officers. The London and Marlborough still remain¬ 
ed at Spithead: delegates from St. Helens were de¬ 
spatched to visit them. Admiral Colpoys refused, 


X.] THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797- 331 

in obedience to his Instructions, to admit them, or¬ 
dered the officers to be armed, the marines to be in 
readiness, and the ports to be let down; neither 
would he allow the boats of the delegates to come 
alongside. The seamen of the London, after con¬ 
sulting together, resolved they should go on board: 
the officers resisted, and ordered the men to go down 
below: some of them refused, and one man began to 
unlash one of the foremost guns, to point it aft to¬ 
wards the quarter-deck: he was cautioned by one of 
the lieutenants, and told he would fire at him if he 
did not desist: the man continued to unlash the gun: 
the lieutenant fired, and shot him dead on the spot. 
The men rushed to arms, and instantly succeeded in 
disarming the officers, and were joined by the marines. 

They now resolved to hang the lieutenant who had 
shot the man ; but the admiral stepped forward, said 
he alone was to blame, if blame there was, for the 
officer had acted under his orders, which he had re¬ 
ceived from the Admiralty. This, together with the 
intercession of the chaplain and the surgeon, but 
more, perhaps, by the bold and undaunted courage 
shown by the admiral, saved the lieutenant’s life. 
Admiral Patten, in liis circumstantial account of the 
mutiny, states that, “ when the seamen were deliberat¬ 
ing whether or not they should put the admiral to death 
on the spot, a man was heard to call him ‘ a damned 
bloody rascal,’ or some such words. Notwithstanding 
the furious irritation which at that moment agitated 


332 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

the whole crew, the habit of respect and regard for a 
beloved commander prevailed so far, as to turn part 
of their resentment against the person who dared to 
use such language to their admiral, who was un¬ 
commonly regarded, and they threatened to punish, 
or throw the offender overboard.” 

The mutineers now weighed anchor in the two 
ships, and proceeded with them to join the fleet at 
St. Helens. Here, it is said, that one of the ship’s 
companies talked openly of carrying her to France; 
hut when this was made known to the delegates, they 
threatened immediate destruction to that ship, if any 
such language continued to be held; and in order to 
prevent her from holding any communication with 
the shore (from whence it was supposed the sugges¬ 
tion was derived), guard-boats were stationed to row 
round her night and day. The idea, however, of the 
seamen having had any abettors from evil-disposed 
persons on shore, or that the Revolution in France 
had been at all accessory to what had occurred in the 
fleet, was satisfactorily disproved. There were no 
grounds for supposing that the men were at all con¬ 
taminated with the dangerous doctrines, seditiously 
propagated at this time in our own country, of liberty, 
equality, and the rights of man ; no contagion of this 
kind had infected the minds of the honest but deluded 
seamen: their conduct was influenced by a dislike of 
particular officers, but mostly with the view of ob¬ 
taining an fficrease of pay, to which, it was fully 


X.] 


THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1*797- 


333 


and universally admitted, they were in justice en¬ 
titled. In fact, the sole aim of the seamen was to 
have their grievances redressed. 

They now however began to send on shore all 
such officers as were not agreeable to them, so that 
the ships were wholly in their possession; and it 
became evident that some decisive measure must be 
adopted, to set the minds of the seamen at ease with 
regard to the measures in progress, and now nearly 
complete, for acquiescing in their demands, and for 
conceding every point at issue. 

Whether at the suggestion of the King, as was 
believed, or of Mr. Pitt, which is more probable, it 
was determined to send down Lord Howe with full 
powers to bring matters, if possible, to a final con¬ 
clusion. He had hitherto always been esteemed by 
the seamen as their friend, though, in the course of 
the discussions that had taken place, they had ex¬ 
pressed their dissatisfaction at his not having noticed 
the letters addressed to him. They were probably 
not aware that they had been sent to the proper 
quarter, from whence alone their grievances could 
be attended to. Considering the state ol Lord 
Howe’s health, and his recent recovery from a severe 
fit of gout, he might with great propriety have de¬ 
clined the mission, but a sense of duty to his king 
and country did not allow him to hesitate. Lady 
Howe determined on accompanying him to Ports¬ 
mouth. 

The first step taken by the Earl on his arrival, 


334 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


on the 11th of May, was to visit all the line-of-battle 
ships at Spithead and St. Helens, to ascertain pre¬ 
cisely what their respective grievances were. On the 
morning of the 12th he received a draft of a procla¬ 
mation to be prepared, eventually to pass the great 
seal, and to be worded consonant with the declaration 
he might find it expedient to make, conformably with 
his Instructions from the King. In his letter of this 
date to Lord Spencer, after further communication 
with the deputies of the several ships, he says, “ the 
discussion, for a time, seemed approaching to a desir¬ 
able issue; but there appears to be some watchful 
agents, not yet to be traced, who neglect no opportunity 
to start fresh difficulties for obstructing the desirable 
accommodation.” But the appearance among them 
of the man who had so frequently led them to battle; 
who was ever ready to befriend their wants, and to 
indulge their wishes, ultimately prevailed over the 
bad passions of the few, who were supposed to have 
misled the many, and gave that confidence to the 
well-disposed, which the presence of the veteran hero 
had never failed to inspire. 

Turn pietate gravem ac meritis si forte virum quem 

Conspexere, silent, arectisque auribus astant; 

Iste regit dictis animos, et pectora mulcet. 

The first point to be gained, and which his lordship 
insisted upon as a sine qua non , was this—that the 
seamen generally should express contrition for what 
had happened, and send him, officially, a petition, 
praying him to interpose his good offices. “ I left the 



X.] 


THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797- 


335 


fleet to-day,” he says, “ under agreement with the 
deputies that the seamen, at large, should request, in 
suitable terms of decency and contrition, my interpo¬ 
sition to obtain the King’s pardon for their transgres¬ 
sions. And, in order to qualify their unalterable ad¬ 
herence to the change of particular officers of different 
ships, I engaged to use my best endeavours to obtain 
their removal, upon receiving, in addition to the former 
dutiful application, a special one of the same nature 
from each of the ships concerned, praying that his 
Majesty would indulge them with the appointment 
of other officers to those ships. And it was settled, 
with the few deputies I could assemble at the time, 
that they should meet me to-morrow, as early as they 
were able, for delivering these petitions, in the Royal 
William at Spithead; whereupon I should take such 
immediate steps as circumstances would permit.” 
And he adds, “ I have not the satisfaction to perceive 
that some fresh difficulties may not occur to obstruct 
the amicable accommodation of this serious concern, 
by the too easy facility of working upon the unsus¬ 
pecting minds of the well-disposed seamen. Without 
the full and speedy concurrence of Government in the 
terms I have stated, I shall despair of becoming the 
happy instrument in the restoration of order and dis¬ 
cipline in the fleet.” 

On the following day, the 13th, the deputies from 
each ship presented their petitions accordingly to 
Earl Howe on board the Royal William. They 
were drawn up in the true style and character ol 



British seamen, all in different terms, and in different 
hand-writing; all expressing great contrition, and 
imploring the Noble Earl’s intercession; but every 
one of them expressing also a most decided and de¬ 
termined resolution, not again to receive on board the 
respective ships those officers from whom they had 
suffered ill-treatment, and for which they had sent 
them ashore. They disclaim, mostly, any wish that 
the usual mode of punishment, for breach of disci¬ 
pline or other offences, should be done away with; 
and it is a remarkable fact that, throughout the 
whole proceedings, not one syllable was ever uttered 
by them either against flogging or impressment—two 
such fertile topics for declamation among the sensi¬ 
tive philanthropists of the House of Commons. In 
his letter of this day to Lord Spencer, Lord Howe 
says, “ Having notified, by means of the telegraph, 
the promising appearance of a satisfactory termina¬ 
tion of all the discontents in the fleet, to be declared 
to-morrow, I must beg leave to confine my present 
intimations to the necessity for replacing a greater 
number of officers, than I flattered myself would 
have been desired ; and the new appointments will 
be proceeded upon in the proper mode, with all pos¬ 
sible dispatch. This request has been complied with, 
under the pretext of an equal desire, on the part of 
the officers, not to be employed in ships where excep¬ 
tions, without specification of facts, have been taken 
to their conduct. However ineligible the concession, 
it was become indispensably necessary.” And he 


X.] THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797- 337 

desires that printed Orders of the Board (consonant 
with the tenor of the one ordered) may be sent down 
to him without delay; “ they being now the only 
apparent requisites to authorize the immediate deli¬ 
very of the pardon, and re-establishment of order in 
the fleet.” 

Thus, by extreme good management, and the com¬ 
plete confidence which the seamen had in Lord Howe, 
whose name had become, like the King’s, a tower of 
strength in the fleet, was this plague-spot wiped out. 
The confidence appears to have been mutual. In a 
note to Sir Evan Nepean, respecting the change of a 
word in the draft he sent up, his Lordship says, “ This 
change made in Lord Howe’s hasty-drawn copy was 
obviously proper; but, much tired as he has been with 
his daily employment here, and the wearying atten¬ 
tion to the various discussions he is engaged in, to 
quiet the most suspicious, but most generous, minds 
he thinks he ever met with in the same class of men, 
occupy him almost without intermission.” 

It was evidently a matter of necessity that the ob¬ 
noxious officers should not go back to their ships; the 
officers themselves knew it, and had no desire to 
return. Admiral Colpoys had particularly requested 
the Admiralty to supersede him in the London. 
Mortifying as it must have been to Lord Howe to 
meet the delegates of the disaffected seamen in his 
own once favourite cabin of the Royal Charlotte, it 
was undoubtedly no less gratifying to find that, in this 


338 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

ship, under the command of his former captain and 
friend, Douglas, not one single officer of any descrip¬ 
tion was required to be displaced. Without mention¬ 
ing names or ships, the numbers and ranks of officers 
removed may be stated as follows :— 

1 Admiral. 

4 Captains. 

29 Lieutenants. 

5 Captains of Marines. 

3 Lieutenants of ditto. 

3 Masters. 

4 Surgeons. 

1 Chaplain. 

17 Master’s Mates. 

25 Midshipmen. 

7 Gunners, Boatswains, and Carpenters. 

3 Serjeants, and 2 Corporals of Marines. 

3 Masters-at-Arms. 

Much obloquy was bestowed on Lord Howe in 
certain quarters for making these concessions to the 
seamen, though obviously necessary for the sake both 
of themselves and of the officers. Some of the 
members of the Board of Admiralty, not very wisely, 
seem to have joined in the censure. One of them, 
however, who had been of the party to Portsmouth, 
was somewhat more liberally disposed. He knew, 
and it may be inferred the whole Board knew, that 
this concession was a point directed in the King’s 
instructions to be granted. In a letter from Admiral 
Young, the first naval adviser to Lord Spencer, ad¬ 
dressed to Lord Hugh Seymour, and dated the 26th 
of May 1797, is the following extract:— 


X.] 


THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797- 


339 


f< I am afraid much mischief has been done by 
the mode in which the mutineers at Spithead were 
treated by Lord Howe ; but the concession made, by 
letting the officers be sent on shore, was not entirely 
to be attributed to him. The ministers were so 
anxious to get the fleet to sea, that they directed it to 
be done , rather than protract the settlement of the 
business.” 

Others, again, said that Lord Howe was in his 
dotage; that he was too infirm and exhausted to 
know what he conceded; just as it was said he 
was after the battle of the 1st of June, and led 
astray by others. Nay, there appears among some 
manuscript slips of paper the following memoran¬ 
dum, but without any name or authority annexed:— 
“ Some time after Lord Spencer succeeded to the 
Admiralty, Sir John Colpoys was appointed to hoist 
his flag in the Northumberland (Sir E. Owen his 
captain). This was suddenly changed, without Col¬ 
poys being aware of it; and on the admiral asking 
for some explanation. Lord Spencer told him a letter 
from Lord Bridport stated that there were murmurs 
in the fleet, it being a breach of promise to the ser¬ 
vice that Colpoys should be employed again. Lord 
Hugh Seymour was sent to Porters, by Lord Spen¬ 
cer, to learn if such a promise had ever been made 
by Lord Howe to the seamen; to which he replied, 
that he really was in such a state of nervous debility 
at the moment, that he could not be answerable for 

z 2 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


340 


[CH. 


the particular expressions he might have used to the 
seamen on that occasion.” 

The person who wrote this could have known very 
little of Lord Howe’s character, or he would not have 
talked of nervous debility . As little did he know of 
Lord Spencer, who was too considerate and high- 
minded to offer to Lord Howe, what he must have 
felt to be little short of an insult; or of Lord Hugh 
Seymour, who had too great a veneration for his old 
commander-in-chief, to condescend to be the bearer 
of such a message. The Lords of the Admiralty had 
no need of asking such a question, being already 
completely informed on the subject. They knew 
very well that no restrictions of officers from serving 
again were ever conceded or even asked for; the 
only concession was, that those officers, who were 
sent on shore, should not be returned to the ships to 
which they belonged. In fact, the whole story is a 
fabrication. Sir J. Colpoys was never named for the 
Northumberland, nor for any other ship, until ap¬ 
pointed by Lord St. Vincent, Port Admiral at Ply¬ 
mouth in 1803, from whence he was removed to the 
Admiralty, by Lord Melville, in 1804. The North¬ 
umberland was never ordered to be fitted as" a flag 
ship, and Captain (now Admiral) Sir Edward Owen 
was only first made into that ship a few weeks before. 
There is no nervous nor mental debility discoverable in 
the following clear and neat report of the Noble Earl’s 
proceedings, written in his own hand at the happy 


X.] 


THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797 . 


341 


conclusion of liis mission, and addressed to his Grace 
the Duke of Portland; it is dated Portsmouth, the 
16th of May, the day on which he had the satisfaction 
of seeing the fleet weigh their anchors and proceed 
to sea:— 

My Lord, —Having already advised your Grace 
of my arrival at Portsmouth on the 11th instant, I 
have now the honour to inform you that I went off 
immediately to the fleet at St. Helens. 

“ I had intercourse on different days with the 
crews of several ships, and held particular conversa¬ 
tions with those deputed seamen, from whom I might 
most easily learn the general sense and disposition of 
the fleet, upon the subject of their alleged grievances. 

“ I explained to them the nature and purpose of 
the commission, with which I had the honour to be 
charged, in the comprehensive and concise terms in 
which the King’s sentiments were expressed in my 
Instructions: not doubting that they had been de¬ 
ceived by ill-founded conceptions/ I assured them, 
that there never had been any change or hesitation 
in his Majesty’s gracious intentions to carry into full 
effect the assurances which had been given to them, 
in his Majesty’s name, by the Lords Commissioners 
of the Admiralty ; that the necessary steps for that 
purpose were actually in the regular course of pro¬ 
ceeding at the very time, when the disorders on 
board the ships recommenced; and that those steps 
had since been completed by an Act of Parliament, 
which (as they were already apprised) had been 


342 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

passed, and had received the Royal Assent, for con¬ 
firming those assurances, and carrying them into full 
execution. 

“ On the head of their general and originally- 
stated grievances, I found them not difficult to be 
satisfied, by adverting to the confirmation by the 
King and Parliament of the hopes held out to them 
by the Commissioners of the Admiralty. 

“ The only remaining complaint was, the ill-treat¬ 
ment which some of the seamen professed they had 
met with from some of their officers. 

“ Several written charges were presented to me 
upon this point. They declared, however, at the same 
time, that their complaints were merely tendered 
to show that they have not acted from a spirit of dis¬ 
obedience, but that they meant to represent what 
they deemed just ground of complaint; and they 
earnestly requested that no proceeding should be in¬ 
stituted upon such charges, to the prejudice of those 
officers. 

“ Applications being, on the other side, made on 
the part of the officers themselves, entreating that 
they might not be required to resume their command 
over men, who had taken such exceptions to their 
conduct, I judged fit to acquiesce in what was now 
the mutual desire of both officers and seamen in the 
fleet. 

“ The several conversations I had with the seamen, 
to impress them with a due sense of their misbe¬ 
haviour, terminated in their ready assurances never to 


X.] 


THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797- 


343 


engage again in similar combinations; and that, what¬ 
ever cause of complaint might at any time hereafter 
arise, it should be represented in the regular manner, 
by application only from the parties aggrieved. I 
was, therefore, induced to declare the King’s pardon, 
and to deliver the copies of the proclamation with 
which I was intrusted. Their sentiments of duty, 
respect, and gratitude for his Majesty’s goodness were, 
in consequence, expressed in such terms, as much 
increased the satisfaction with which I executed that 
part of my authority. 

“ Discontents, confined however to the attainment 
of the removal of some officers, prevailed in the squa¬ 
dron of Sir Roger Curtis recently brought to Spit- 
head. These complaints were soon, with the assistance 
of the Rear-Admiral’s prudent management, finally 
accommodated; and regular discipline, I flatter my¬ 
self, permanently established in those ships likewise. 

“ It is incumbent on me further to acquaint your 
Grace, that I experienced every possible regard to 
my recommendations during the whole of this service, 
from the Commander-in-chief, Sir Peter Parker, and 
Lord Bridport, as well as the other admirals of the 
fleet; and also from the General Sir William Pitt, 
and the military corps at Portsmouth, in aid of my 
endeavours to promote the benefit of his Majesty’s 
service, upon this most interesting occasion. 

“ I have the honour, &c. 

(Signed) “ Howe.’’ 


344 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

On his return to town, Lord Howe waited on Lord 
Spencer, and urged strongly the justice of continuing 
all the officers on full pay, who had been displaced 
by the disorderly ships’ crews, until they could he 
otherwise employed, acquainting him that he had 
desired Sir Peter Parker to suggest the propriety of 
it, officially. And on Lord Howe’s return from 
Windsor, after a communication with the King, he 
thus writes:—“ I heard there, that the officers were 
to he put on full pay, until replaced, even though the 
proposition had not been moved by Sir Peter Parker ; 
but whether originating at the Admiralty, or by sug¬ 
gestion from a higher authority, I cannot say. It 
was justice due to them, as it was not deemed expe¬ 
dient to call them to account for their imputed mis¬ 
conduct.” He goes on to say:— 

u The conditions meant to be exacted, by the crews 
of Lord Hugh Seymour’s ships, is a very unpleasant 
circumstance ; and by pretensions of a similar kind in 
the frigate-detachments, it appears that the assumed 
right of rejecting their officers, unheard in their de¬ 
fence, will go through the fleet, at home and abroad. 
I am glad you have convinced Lord Hugh of the high 
degree of impropriety, in my opinion, when com¬ 
manders, not so compelled, assume a liberty to quit 
their ships. I had entertained a distant hope that 
others of your ships’ companies would have followed 
the example of the Prince’s, by desiring the recall of 
some of their officers. Several of the petty-officers I 


X.] 


THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797. 


345 


had also hoped would he transferred, or requested to 
return to their former ships.” 

It is clear from the correspondence of Lord Howe 
about this period, that his mind was not at ease with 
regard to the disorders and the want of discipline 
in the fleet. On the 27th of May he writes thus:— 

“ The derangements in the fleet, and in part of the 
land forces, are of a most unpleasant nature. Those 
in the army will, I hope, be finally composed. The 
extravagances of the seamen are not attended to, I 
think, in the manner they ought to be. We seem 
here to think that the legal authorities, with which 
we are vested, are sufficient to secure as well as to 
claim respect; and that the same impression we have 
formed on them cannot fail of operating with equal 
effect on our subordinates. I have submitted my 
sentiments, uncalled for (but where I thought they 
were likely to be best regarded), of the precautions 
to be taken against the use our enemies may make 
of our disorganization. How far they may be at¬ 
tended to, in the various important concerns of the 
moment, is more than I can at piesent judge; but I 
have freely stated wherein I thought the marine ad¬ 
ministration of them has been (in respect to the dis¬ 
orders among the seamen) highly erroneous; the 
sense of the officers of the ships little less so, in my 
opinion, than that of the seamen. The extent to 
which the latter (not timely instructed) may proceed, 
is yet not possible to be foreseen; insomuch that I 


346 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

almost think some attempts upon our coasts, com¬ 
mencing by the enemy, seem to be the last hope we 
have for the recovery of our senses.” 

In fact, the mutiny had by this time extended to 
the ships at the Nore, in which it was carried on with 
much more ferocity than in the Channel fleet. In the 
latter it was left doubtful, from the moderation of the 
seamen, whether they had been instigated by wicked 
and designing men not belonging to the fleet; but in 
that where it was now raging, not a doubt could be en¬ 
tertained on the subject. This serious mutiny is thus 
noticed by Lord Howe in a letter of the 1st of June:— 

“ I have received your interesting letter of yester¬ 
day. The demand for the ships from your port has 
been made for the North Sea, on account of the dis¬ 
orders in some of the ships of Admiral Duncan’s 
squadron, which have been brought to the Nore, that 
their crews may be paid their six months in twelve, 
conformably with the letter of the Act; and, as it is 
said, that the Texel squadron had put to sea. 

“ The seamen of the Sandwich, and another ship, 
at the Nore, have proceeded to such an extent as to fire 
upon the St. Fiorenzo, when the captain, supported 
by his men, pushed by them on his passage to Yar¬ 
mouth Roads, for receiving the Prince of Wirtem- 
berg and his bride, and carrying them over to the 
continent. The Admiralty Board have been down 
to Sheerness, but attempted in vain to restore order 
and discipline in those ships; and the men are left, 



X.] THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797. 347 

as I understand, to become temperate at their leisure. 
It is true, some of their claims are of the most extra¬ 
vagant nature; but I know not what methods were 
taken to explain and convince them, that their errors 
must involve them in the destruction of their country, 
should they continue much longer in the same state 
of disaffection. 

cc As to the neglect you describe of the seamen’s 
complaints, I can only impute it to the incompetency 
of the persons who have the immediate superintend¬ 
ence in the department. 

“ The complaints in the ships under Lord Brid- 
port, and of your squadron, were of a nature that 
admitted of immediate rectification ; but better know¬ 
ledge than I possess is requisite on the subject, to 
satisfy the seeming reasonable discontents, now pre¬ 
vailing, at the delays in the Admiralty Courts, and 
chicane of the practitioners and prize-agents. I can 
only observe, that preventive measures rather than 
correctives are to be preferred for preserving disci¬ 
pline in fleets and armies. It was bad policy not to 
have made an example of the delinquent commander 
[who was he ? ] in another mode than by a simple 
removal; and proves to me how narrow are the 
views taken by our naval directors.” 

A paragraph in another letter, of the 16th of 
August, concludes his correspondence on this painful 
subject. He observes, “The occurrences in 1783, 
when I was first put at the head of the Admiralty, 


348 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

and when the same steps were taken by several ships’ 
companies to emancipate themselves from the control 
of their officers, excited my fears and expectations 
that the experiment would be renewed before the 
remembrance of the effect had ceased. If exultation 
is shown, as I feared, at the success on the part of 
government on this occasion, it may increase the mis¬ 
chief.” 

The first symptom of insubordination, in Admiral 
Duncan’s fleet, is described in a letter from the ad¬ 
miral, dated Venerable, Yarmouth Roads, 1st May, 
in which he says, “ Yesterday afternoon I was very 
unexpectedly surprised to hear three cheers given on 
board the Venerable, by some of her company on the 
forecastle and in the fore-shrouds, without orders. 
I immediately assembled the officers, and ordered the 
marines under arms : being thus prepared, I went on 
the forecastle and demanded to know the cause of 
such improper conduct, to which they made no reply; 
but five of them, appearing more forward than the 
rest, I ordered aft on the poop, and directed the 
others to disperse, which they did. Soon after I 
ordered the hands to be sent aft on the quarter-deck, 
and the five men to be brought from the poop. I 
then interrogated them upon their conduct: they 
had nothing to say for themselves but that, as their 
friends at Spithead had done so, they thought no 
harm, and that they wished to know when their 
increased pay and provisions were to commence: 


X.] 


THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797 . 


349 


having satisfied them on that head, pointed out the 
enormity of the crime of mutiny, and pardoned the 
offenders, good order was again established; and I 
have the satisfaction to say, they have behaved very 
properly ever since. 

“The Nassau followed the example of the Vene¬ 
rable, but on Vice-Admiral Onslow demanding the 
cause, was told, that seeing the Venerable cheer, 
they thought no harm in doing so, and had no 
grievances; the rest of the squadron were perfectly 
quiet.” 

Towards the end of the month, however, when 
the admiral ordered the fleet to weigh, to proceed off 
the Texel, two of the squadron refused, on pretence 
of being in course of payment; and on the next and 
following days the whole fleet deserted him, to join 
the mutineers at the Nore, with the exception of his 
flag ship the Venerable, and the Adamant. The mu¬ 
tineers, thus reinforced at the Nore, and urged on by 
a most mischievous and villainous fellow of the name 
of Parker, proceeded to the greatest extremities :— 
sent the officers on shore—fired into his Majesty’s 
ships Clyde and San Fiorenzo, when escaping from 
them—punished the people with the utmost rigour— 
and sent a deputation to the few remaining ships at 
Portsmouth, inviting them to join them and insist on 
further demands. The crews, however, of these ships 
refused to have any concern with them: declared 
themselves perfectly satisfied with the indulgences 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


350 


[CH. 


already granted, and recommended the same feeling 
to their brethren of the North Sea fleet. 

At length, the arbitrary and ferocious conduct of 
Parker and his delegates, and the brutality exercised 
by them over the crews of their respective vessels, so 
disgusted the sailors, that several of the ships with¬ 
drew from the wicked confederacy. On the 15th of 
June the Sandwich, the ship of the port-admiral and 
the head-quarters of the mutineers, was brought by 
the seamen under the guns of the fort at Sheerness, 
having been given up by the crew to her officers, 
with Parker on board as a prisoner. This wretch 
was tried by court-martial, found guilty, and sen¬ 
tenced to be hanged on board the Sandwich; and 
twenty-two others of the worst description also un¬ 
derwent the extreme sentence of the law. 

It is remarkable enough, that in this daring and 
outrageous mutiny, when the most extravagant de¬ 
mands were put forth, the words impressment and 
flogging never, even here, escaped the lips of the 
delegates, any more than at Portsmouth; neither of 
these, it would seem, were considered by them as 
naval grievances : and as to flogging, that punish¬ 
ment, during the mutiny at the Nore, was more 
severely and more frequently exercised, than by the 
most rigorous commander of a ship of war. 

But the spirit of mutiny and insubordination was 
not confined to the home ports. Early in July a 
most daring mutiny broke out on board the St. 


X.] 


THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797. 


351 


George, one of tlie ships of the fleet under Lord 
St. Vincent, off Cadiz, which however was happily 
quelled by the spirited conduct of Captain Peard, 
her commander, his first-lieutenant. Hartley, and 
Captain Hinde, who commanded a party of the 25th 
regiment. Three men, who had been tried and sen¬ 
tenced to suffer death for mutinous conduct in other 
ships of the fleet, had been sent on board the St. 
George for execution on a certain day. The crew, 
headed by two men, came aft on the quarter-deck 
to present a letter to the captain, desiring him to 
intercede with the commander-in-chief in behalf of 
these condemned men. The captain told them the 
letter should be sent, but that he highly disapproved 
of their conduct in coming aft in a body. The next 
morning he was secretly informed by one of the crew 
that they meant to assemble again; that they had 
come to a resolution the prisoners should not be 
executed on board the St. George. He immediately 
turned up the hands ; told them the commander-in¬ 
chief, so far from listening to their remonstrance, 
had sent him the warrant for execution the following 
morning; and cautioned them to be on their guard 
against a few villains in the ship, who were known 
to him, and whom he should carefully watch. 

The same evening, one of the crew came to the 
captain in great agitation, told him he had overheard 
that their intention was to take the ship from him 


352 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


during the night; that articles were drawn up, 
signed, and sworn to by a very considerable number 
of the men ; and he named the principal men con¬ 
cerned. No time was to be lost; he seized three of 
the villains at the head of the conspiracy, put them 
into a boat, and sent them on board the Ville de 
Paris, the flag-ship, with a charge of “seditiously, 
mutinously, and traitorously conspiring to deprive 
him, the captain, and the rest of the officers of his 
Majesty’s ship St. George, of the command of the 
said ship.” The court was assembled, the trial took 
place, and sentence of death passed on the three 
ringleaders. Lord St. Vincent, with that prompt 
and decided conduct for which he had always been 
distinguished, issued an immediate order that every 
ship in the squadron should send two boats, with an 
officer in each, and two marines and soldiers properly 
armed, alongside his Majesty’s ship the St. George, 
at half-past seven o’clock the next morning (Sunday), 
to attend a punishment. And the following “ General 
Order ” was directed to be read to every ship’s com¬ 
pany, before the execution :— 

“ The sentence is to be carried into execution by 
the crew of the St. George alone , and no part of the 
boats’ crews of other ships, as is usual on similar 
occasions, is to assist in this painful service, in order 
to mark the high sense the commander-in-chief en¬ 
tertains of the loyalty, fidelity, and subordination of 


X.] 


THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797- 


353 


the fleet, which he will not fail to make known to 
the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and 
request their lordships to lay it before the King.” 

Nothing more was heard of the mutiny in the fleet 
under Lord St. Vincent, except in particular ships, 
some of which had been sent to him from the Nore 
and Portsmouth, among others the London and the 
Marlborough. On this occasion his lordship was 
severely censured by a certain description of persons 
for desecrating the sabbath, as they termed it, in 
causing the execution of the criminals on that day; 
though the promptitude of the whole proceeding 
tended, probably more than anything else, to the 
salvation of the fleet. It required all the energy, 
firmness, and circumspection of the commander-in- 
chief to prevent any confederacy among the seamen 
of the squadron; which summary punishments in 
several ships, and courts-martial when necessary in 
others, and above all, the strong measure of inter¬ 
cepting all correspondence, frustrated any attempt at 
combination. In the midst of all this, a fleet of gun¬ 
boats came out of Cadiz, to annoy the in-shore 
squadron, when it was remarked that those men, who 
had been foremost in mutinous conduct, were the most 
anxious to engage them; which made it a kind of 
joke in the fleet that, though blockading was a stupid 
kind of work, it was enlivened by a pleasing variety 
of hanging and praying, fighting and flogging. 

The following little anecdote may convey an idea 

2 A 


354 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

of the effect produced on the minds of the men by 
the firmness, decision, and promptitude of the com¬ 
mander-in-chief, for the support of discipline and sub¬ 
ordination in the fleet:—A sailor, newly arrived in 
one of the Portsmouth ships, being alongside the 
Ville de Paris in a boat, was describing to a brother 
sailor in one of the ports, the transactions that had 
taken place at home, on which another, having heard 
him, called out, “ Messmate, take care what you are 
saying about that there matter, or old Jarvey will 
very soon have you up at the yard-arm.” 

The next scene of a general mutiny took place in 
the fleet stationed at the Cape of Good Hope; occa¬ 
sioned by mere wantonness, and because it had been 
fashionable at home. The Admiral, Pringle, was 
greatly alarmed, but fortunately the Captain-General 
and Governor, Lord Macartney, was a man resolute 
as Lord St. Vincent, and saw at once there was but 
one line to be taken. In concert with the admiral, 
a message was sent off to the Tremendous, the flag¬ 
ship and rendezvous of the delegates, to say, that if 
the red flag was not struck before the expiration of 
two hours, and the white one, as the signal of sub¬ 
mission, hoisted, every ship would be sunk by the 
guns of the Amsterdam battery, close to which they 
were at anchor. In the mean time the necessary 
preparations for this purpose had been made, and 
red-hot shot heated. The Captain-General and the 
Admiral marched down to the battery, the former 


X.] THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797. 355 

of whom laid his watch upon the parapet, with a full 
determination, if the white flag was not displayed at 
the expiration of the time allowed, to sink every ship. 
The signal of submission, however, was made about 
a quarter of an hour before the time; and the mutiny 
was completely crushed. 

As evil is not unfrequently productive of good, it 
so happened in the case of the mutiny. The atten¬ 
tion of naval officers was more closely drawn to the 
consideration and comforts of the men under their 
command ; punishments became less frequent; in¬ 
dulgence of leave to go on shore was more generally 
extended. Successive Boards of Admiralty have been 
emulous in their endeavours to better the condition of 
the seamen, which is now, in fact, superior to that of 
almost any class of men who must earn a subsistence 
by the sweat of their brow. A man-of-war’s man is 
better fed, better lodged, better and cheaper clothed, 
and, in sickness, better taken care of, than any class 
of labouring men; and when he has completed 
twenty-one years’ service, he may retire, if he wishes 
it, with a pension for life, from tenpence to fourteen- 
pence a day; and if severely wounded, more than 
double these sums; or if discharged after fourteen 
years, or less, for sickness or debility contracted in 
the service, a pension of sixpence or ninepence a 
day. Petty and non-commissioned officers have in¬ 
creased pensions, according to the petty or non-com¬ 
missioned time they may have served. To show the 

2 a 2 


356 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

difference since the time of the mutiny, it may be 
observed that the number of these out-pensioners at 
that period was about 1500 ; at the present time they 
are from 18,000 to 20,000, and the average amount 
of the pension of each person is at least as 3 to 1. 

Again, when seamen are worn out by old age or 
infirmity, that noble asylum at Greenwich, unpa¬ 
ralleled in the world, is open for the consideration 
of their claims. The number at present therein is 
nearly 3000. As a further encouragement for good 
conduct, and a service of twenty-one years, gratuities 
are awarded to a certain number of seamen and 
marines, on the paying off of each ship, which entitle 
them also to wear a silver medal of the size of half-a- 
crown, at the third button-hole of their jackets, having 
on one side of it the words “ For long service and good 
conduct,” and on the other, an Anchor and Crown. 
Neither are the children of seamen neglected. An¬ 
nexed to Greenwich Hospital is a splendid building, 
in the midst of a beautiful piece of ground, appro¬ 
priated as a school for 800 boys and 200 girls, who 
receive an excellent education ; many of the boys in 
the upper school attaining such progress in mathe¬ 
matics, astronomy, and navigation, as to make them 
sought after in the merchant service, where by good 
conduct they become mates and masters. 

To every ship in the navy, and to every mess, the 
Bible, and other books of religious instruction, and 
also of amusement, are allowed ; and the present 


X.] 


THE YEAR OF MUTINIES, 1797 . 


357 


Board of Admiralty, anxious to extend the advantages 
of education to the petty officers, seamen, marines, 
and boys of the fleet, have recently authorized an 
additional rating of first-class petty officer in every 
ship, under the name of “ Seaman’s Schoolmaster/’ 
whom all may attend, and all the boys are required 
to do so. They are instructed in reading, writing 
and arithmetic, trigonometry, and keeping a ship’s 
reckoning at sea. 

It has been noticed, that flogging and impressment 
were not once alluded to by the mutineers as griev¬ 
ances. With regard to the first, it is now compara¬ 
tively trifling, and the power is exercised under such 
regulations, as to insure its not being resorted to 
wantonly or capriciously, but only in cases of an 
aggravated nature; and every instance of it must be 
reported to the Admiralty; for minor offences, the 
captains and commanders have recourse to more leni¬ 
ent punishments, which are generally found to answer 
the same end. It happens, however, that some of 
the commanders of her Majesty’s ships, with the fear 
of certain sensitive members of the House of Com¬ 
mons before their eyes, have resorted to measures, as 
substitutes for flogging, far more obnoxious to the 
seamen—such as keeping their names in what is 
termed the “ black list,”—stopping their leave to go 
on shore—assigning to them extra duty—withholding 
their allowance of spirits—mixing them with an 
additional quantity of water—and various other re- 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


358 


[CH. 


cently invented punishments, not at all to the taste 
of the old man-of-war seaman. 

With regard to impressment, the Act of William 
5 and 6, brought in by Sir James Graham, “ for the 
Encouragement of the Voluntary Enlistment of Sea¬ 
men,it is to be hoped, will greatly mitigate, if not 
render unnecessary, that coercive practice, at least 
on shore, where, being exercised under the public 
eye, it became the more obnoxious. This Act limits 
the duration of the service in the navy, in time of 
war, (to such seamen as may voluntarily enter it,) 
to five years, when, if they wish it, they will be dis¬ 
charged ; or if kept on any especial emergency for 
six months longer, they will be entitled to one-fourth 
increase of pay; to those entering within a limited 
time, after a proclamation calling for the services of 
seamen, double bounty will be given; and on such 
as agree to continue a second period of five years, 
a single additional bounty will be bestowed; and, 
moreover, seamen having pensions for former services 
will be allowed to receive such pensions, together 
with their pay. This encouragement, with the be¬ 
nefits above stated which the seamen now enjoy, and 
the many superior advantages of a ship-of-war over 
that of a merchant ship, may be expected to diminish, 
if not wholly supersede, the necessity for impressment. 



XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 359 


CHAPTER XI. 

RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 

Lord Howe finally retires from public life—His family—Accession of 
fortune—Patronises a farmer's son—Observations on, and praise 
of, Duncan's victory—Trial by court-martial of Captain Williamson 
—Howe’s recollection of this officer’s conduct on a former occasion 
—His long confinement by ill-health—Reflections on discipline—A 
family ship—High praise on Lord St. Vincent as a naval officer— 
Opinion in favour of appointing young officers to command ships of 
the line—Comments on the action of Mars with L’Hercule—Praise 
of Lord Nelson—Round sterns of ships—Temperance of Lord 
Howe—His French cook—His two last letters : the first, containing 
a comment on Suwarrow’s action with the French, and on his own 
battle of the 1st of June; the second, written sixteen days before 
his death, on domestic matters, and his own infirmities—By the 
death of Dr. Warren, and in the absence of Dr. Pitcairn, has re¬ 
course to electricity—Supposed to have driven the gout into his 
head — Dies — Consolatory letter from George the Third, and 
George Prince of Wales—Mrs. Howe’s admirable reply to the 
former—Attentions of the King, Queen, and Royal Family to the 
Countess Howe — Intended marriage of Lady Mary with Lord 
Morton—Death of this amiable Lady—Followed by that of the 
Countess—Two excellent letters of condolence from the good King 
George the Third, and one from the Prince of Wales—Loss of 
Mrs. Howe’s papers and correspondence much to be regretted— 
Probability of much being still in private hands. 

The last, and not the least important, act of Lord 
Howe’s public life—that of bringing back to a sense 
of their duty the deluded, but really honest, seamen 
of the fleet—and his previous resignation of all com¬ 
mand and authority in the naval service, left him to 


360 LIFE OF EARL IIOWE. [CH. 

the full enjoyment of private life in the tranquil re¬ 
tirement of Porters Lodge—as far, at least, as the 
intermission of frequent and severe fits of gout can be 
said to constitute enjoyment. The Countess, and their 
favourite and accomplished daughter Lady Mary, were 
the only regular inmates. This young lady had in 
early life made natural history, more particularly 
zoology and botany, her study, and Porters afforded 
her the means of collecting and preserving both living 
plants and animals. She was a great favourite at 
Windsor, and spent much time with the Princesses, 
as one of the ladies of the bedchamber, a situation 
which she held for several years, but which she had 
happily resigned about the time of her noble father’s 
retirement from public life. The Countess was a 
most affectionate wife, watching over her Lord in all 
his illnesses, accompanying him wherever he went; 
and when employed afloat, it was her special care 
that everything was provided for his convenience and 
comfort. With this small family thus situated, the 
venerable Earl passed the few remaining years—few 
they were indeed—in the society of those who loved 
him, and by whom he was adored. 

His fortune was moderate, but fully equal to his 
expenses: all that he now received from the public, 
for an unremitting service of fifty-seven years, was 
the pay of General of Marines (about 1800/. a-year, 
half-pay included). He had no pension, having, 
it is believed, declined the offer of one after the 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 361 

battle of the 1st of June. The family of Howe are 
represented as of kindly and benevolent dispositions, 
charitable to their poor neighbours, by whom their 
loss was severely felt when, in the short space of 
less than three years, the whole of its inmates were 
swept away by the unrelenting hand of death. It 
will be seen, however, by a few extracts from the 
Earl’s correspondence, that during the few years of 
his retirement, and notwithstanding his frequent ill¬ 
ness, his mind was in the profession, and his facul¬ 
ties were whole and unimpaired to the last. 

Just about this time, a small accession of fortune 
came into the possession of the Noble Earl, the result 
of a kind and charitable act in the early part of his 
life towards an unprotected and friendless orphan, 
and of confidence and gratitude in return. In the 
year 1755, Lord Howe took this young man, of the 
name of L'Epine, as his clerk in the Dunkirk, from 
whence he was transferred with his patron to the 
Magnanime, where he remained as clerk till 1759, 
when he procured for him a purser’s warrant. In 
1762, he was paid off with that ship. In 1765, when 
Lord Howe became Treasurer of the Navy, he en¬ 
tered him as a clerk in that office, where he re¬ 
mained till 1773, when, on the recommendation of 
Lord Howe, he was appointed Secretary to Sir Ed¬ 
ward Hughes. He returned home from India with 
a handsome competence, and died in 1788, making 
Lord Howe his executor, and guardian of an only 


362 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

surviving daughter; with a bequest of an estate in 
Bedfordshire, if his daughter died without issue. 
This estate came into the Earl's possession in April 
1798, by Miss L’Epine’s decease. 

The following letter is given entire, as exhibiting 
another among the many instances it affords, of the 
pains he took to do a kind and benevolent act:— 

“ Kirklington, 31st July, 1797. 

“ My dear Sir Roger,—Stopping for a couple of 
days at a friend’s house here, in my way to Buxton, 
and being but a few miles distant from my estate at 
Epperston, where our young penman, Dufty, resides, 
I sent for him to dissuade him from his passion for a 
sea life. But I find him so earnestly (I will not say 
obstinately, for he urged his suit with the utmost 
modesty,) bent upon it, that all my representations 
of the better prospects his qualifications opened to 
him in a quieter line of life, have been without effect. 
Prejudiced in his favour, by what I have yet dis¬ 
covered of his temper and character, I am desirous 
of giving him the trial he wishes to make of the 
profession he has chosen, at my expense ; his father 
being little capable of affording much pecuniary as¬ 
sistance to him on that occasion. 

“ Having understood, before I left town, that your 
stay at Portsmouth is likely to be as short as the 
condition of your ship renders absolutely necessary, 
I judged best (our separation for so great a distance 
considered) to send my young protege to wait at 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 363 

Portsmouth for your arrival. But not knowing under 
whose care to place him in the mean time, I have 
solicited Mr. Turner, our heretofore naval caterer, to 
become my substitute in providing for the lad’s main¬ 
tenance and lodging, until the arrival of the Prince 
(Sir Roger’s ship); for which expenses I am to be 
answerable, as my letter to Mr. Turner expresses. 

“ I don’t find the circumstances of the father en¬ 
able him to make any such allowance of pecuniary 
assistance to the son, as admits of the latter to set out 
in any higher station than for becoming a perfect 
common sailor. Should that finally prove to be the 
case, the lad must commence his career in the rougher 
duties of our profession ; and as his first engagement 
is rather to make trial, whether his passion for the 
sea-service will support him under all the fatiguing 
exertions, to which the business subjects the practi¬ 
tioner, I am willing to bear any requisite expenses 
for the purpose—I mean, by payment of such quota 
as may be necessary for the mess to which he is ad¬ 
mitted, and his clothing bills. &c. for fitting him out. 
With his writing, as you have seen, he has been in¬ 
structed in the rudiments to fit him for a counting- 
house, and his father could have actually placed him 
in that branch of business. His knowledge of the 
common rules of arithmetic will be an essential aid 
for making progress in the theory as well as practical 
branches of his profession. If, therefore, his attach¬ 
ment to it continues, and his character and behaviour 


364 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

is such, as promise suitable consequences deduced 
from his application and capacity, I shall willingly 
pay also for his instruction in navigation, if you can 
find the means (as I know you have the goodness not 
to scruple the trouble) to have him instructed therein, 
if any person can do it in the ship. 

“ In my recommendation of the lad to Mr. Turner, 
I have not desired the latter yet to make the purchase 
of sea-clothing, &c., which the lad will want; mean¬ 
ing to leave that to your appointment, and that it 
should be confined, in quality and quantity, to the 
character of a sailor , in which he is to set out. For 
whatever his father may be capable of, or induced to 
afford him hereafter, it will be* usefully applied in his 
support, when he proves (if he becomes ever so quali¬ 
fied) capable of employment above the character of a 
fore-mast man. My young sailor, being the bearer 
of this letter, it is confined merely to the subject 
of his concerns; more especially as I reckon the 
easterly winds we have had the last two days will 
facilitate your speedy return to Spithead. 

“ Yours ever, 

“ H.” 

In October 1797, on reading the Gazette account 
of Admiral Duncan’s victory, he makes the following 
observation:—“ As I understand the Admiral’s letter 
in the Gazette, and his line of battle given with it, I 
concluded that the rear division led, when he attacked 
the Dutch, seemingly , therefore, in regular order of 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 365 

battle. But by the letters published in the daily 
papers, as having been received from officers in the 
fleet, and also in one I have had from Byard, such 
regularity (if it was at first observed) was soon dis¬ 
continued ; for those accounts represent, both of our 
ships as well as those of the enemy, that they bad two 
or three upon one, on either part. It thence seems 
that greater dispersion prevailed in the progress of 
the action than I should have thought probable, in so 
confined a space as was left for the two fleets, so near 
in-shore.” 

He then proceeds to make the following comments 
on this brilliant engagement, so opportunely and so 
successfully accomplished:— 

“ This action, upon the whole, reminds us of the 
ancient Dutch wars; and it further resembles them, 
inasmuch as one is led to inquire how the seconds 
a-head and a-stern of such ships as had two or three 
of their opponents upon them at the same time, were 
at those moments occupied. It has been, however, a 
most honourable and fortunate operation; one that 
cannot be too distinguishably noticed; and I look 
forward with earnestness for the happy effects of it, 
deeming it rather of a preventive than progressive 
nature in the great work of peace; being yet igno¬ 
rant as to the efficient state of our western fleets, and 
the reliefs that can be provided for a continuance of 
their appointments.—I say this in real ignorance of 
our maritime resources, not in despondency. One 


366 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

benefit I ook for from this celebrated victory is, that 
it will eradicate the seeds of discontent, which yet ap¬ 
peared ready to vegetate afresh in that northern fleet.” 

The glory of this victory was in some degree tar¬ 
nished, like that of the 1st of June, by the misconduct 
of one captain, whom it was deemed necessary to 
bring before a court-martial. Captain Williamson, 
of the Agincourt, was charged, “that, during the 
engagement of the squadron under the command of 
Admiral Duncan with the Dutch fleet, on the 11th 
of October 1797, he did not upon that day, upon 
signal and order of fight, and upon sight of several of 
the enemy’s ships, which it was his duty to engage, 
do his duty and obey such signal; and that he did, 
on the said day, and during the time of action, 
through cowardice, negligence, or disaffection, keep 
back, and did not come into fight or engagement, and 
did not do his utmost to take or destroy such of the 
enemy’s ships as it was his duty to engage.” On 
these charges the Court decided, “ That the charges 
of cowardice and disaffection have not been proved, 
but that the other parts of the charges have been 
proved in part; they do, therefore, in consideration of 
the case, and the nature and degree of the offence, 
adjudge him to be placed at the bottom of the list of 
post-captains, and rendered incapable of serving on 
board any of his Majesty’s ships or vessels of the 
royal navy.” 

In the same letter above quoted is a paragraph 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 367 

relating to this unfortunate officer, which proves the 
accuracy of the Noble Earl’s memory. 

“ If I mistake not,” he says, <f Williamson, the 
commander in the Agincourt, was employed in a 
frigate during the last peace, for carrying dispatches 
out to the East Indies, and ran his frigate ashore 
somewhere near the Lizard, in the night, on his 
return to Channel; pleading in his excuse, at his 
court-martial, that the accident was caused by the 
errors in his master s reckoning—a minute that, of 
admonitory benefit for young captains, who often 
think that point of their examinations, when passing 
for a lieutenancy, is no longer to be regarded after 
obtaining independent commands.” 

This just remark of Earl Howe is highly deserv¬ 
ing of consideration, and, in point of fact, has been 
repeatedly brought before more than one Board of 
Admiralty. A young midshipman, having passed his 
examination for a lieutenancy, remains for many years 
a mate, forgetting all that he had been obliged to learn 
to enable him to pass, knowing that he would not be 
subject to any further inquiries into the state of his 
nautical knowledge. Why should he not pass a second 
time when he is about to get his commission ? Nay, 
further, why should not a lieutenant, before he obtains 
a commission as commander, undergo a similar exami¬ 
nation to qualify himself for that rank ; or, at least, 
give some proof that he is familiar with the use of a 
chronometer, and can work a lunar observation ? If 


368 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

it was once considered necessary that a lieutenant, 
appointed to command a packet, should prove his 
ability to take and work a lunar observation, and 
deduce the longitude from chronometers, surely it 
cannot be thought less necessary that a commander 
should be able to do so, before he is entrusted with 
the command of a sloop of war ; but the good regu¬ 
lation, regarding packets even, has been discontinued. 
Young officers of the navy ought not to be allowed 
to throw their professional education behind them, 
from the moment they have passed their first exami¬ 
nation, and by their ignorance or indifference, leave 
the fate of the ships, they may afterwards command, 
“ to the errors of the masters .” 

An interval of three months occurs in the Earl’s 
correspondence, which is, on the 2nd of February 
1798, after ten weeks’ confinement to his bed, re¬ 
newed with every indication of that vigour of mind 
which never appears to have deserted him. To this 
renewed correspondence is the following postscript, 
written by his Countess :—“ Since I wrote last to you, 
my dear Lord has had so very severe a return of fever 
(from which he has been but three days out of his bed), 
that I really avoided writing to you, that you might not 
go to sea, perhaps for weeks, without hearing of him 
again. I am thankful I can say lie is now recover¬ 
ing, but, though he has written the above, he is in¬ 
finitely more reduced in strength and flesh than when 
you saw him—God keep him from another relapse! ” 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 369 

In May of the same year, he says, “ My most 
spirited efforts don’t yet exceed a movement farther 
than from one room to the other without crutches. 
But though I have been for many weeks but sta¬ 
tionary in my progress to amendment, I think within 
the last eight or ten days I am rather getting forward 
again ; and as temperate weather approaches, may 
become re-possessed of some locomotive faculties.” 
His mental faculties were all this time in full energy, 
and employed on his favourite subjects connected with 
the naval service. “ I rejoice much,” he says, “ that 
you have got into society with a steady supporter of 
naval discipline (Lord St. Vincent). The misfortune 
of the service seems to be, that officers of little expe¬ 
rience deem those appointments innovations, which 
w T ere undisputed principles of discipline antecedent to 
the peace of 1763.” Again he says, “ You satisfy 
me, in your last, that the responsible individuals of 
the fleet have not yet been long enough in training to 
have acquired an adequate degree of knowledge in 
their business. Reflection will often well supply the 
defect of experience, but when we are wanting in both, 
we have not always penetration or good sense enough 
to adopt the suggestions which have not originated 
with us.” In another letter, on the subject of the 
coast of Ireland, and Beerliaven in particular, he 
concludes thus—“ I congratulate you on the advance¬ 
ment of your son ; and though I do not in general 

2 B 


370 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

think it desirable to be engaged with very near con¬ 
nexions in our line of business, I yet approve of 
having him kept with you; so much do I think that 
well-selected impressions, early inculcated, are of 
moment in the formation of an officer. Incitements 
to animate our resolutions have largely abounded this 
war; but the opportunities and the desire to extend 
our abilities, in the various distinctions incident to 
fleet-service, seem yet open for more general cultiva¬ 
tion.—Success attend you! ” 

It is clear from this, that Lord Howe did not ap¬ 
prove, and what good officer ever did approve, of 
what is called a family ship ? Neither did he approve 
of the rule of the service , as he calls it, prohibiting 
young captains from commanding line-of-battle ships. 
Sir Roger Curtis wished to have Larcum, promoted 
for the 1st of June, as his captain in the Prince, but 
the rule it seems was against it. The following note 
on this occasion appears in Lord Howe's journal:— 
“ Larcum is, I believe, nearer forty than thirty years 
of age; and Hope, who commanded the Bellerophon 
in the late action, between those ages. But the 
almost youngest captains on the list were employed 
last year in capital ships; as Elphinstone in the 
Glory, and Halsted in the London. It may however 
be alleged with truth, that those officers were placed 
in ships appropriated to flags; but they were sent in 
those ships without their flag-officers; and I am to 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 371 

conclude, in being so trusted with the conduct of 
those ships, it was inferred they were fully competent 
to the charge. 

“ Other captains have been appointed to ships of 
the line, now with me, by the late Admiralty (and I 
fancy a similar doctrine is held at the present Board), 
of whom those could be named, who never before 
commanded a ship of the line, and who, residing in 
town in discontinuance of all professional duties for 
ten or twelve years, were never once afloat, unless 
upon a sea of politics in a parliamentary character. 
In conclusion, I might add my opinion that our 
enemy (of whom it is esteemed an old and admitted 
maxim that it would be wise to learn) do not select 
their commanders by seniority in rank, but by their 
reputed talents.” 

This appears to have been his opinion at an early 
period of his flag command. In a minute on Sir 
Roger Curtis’s papers, it is stated that, when Lord 
Howe mentioned to him his intention to take him as 
captain of the Eagle, in America, Captain Curtis said 
he feared he was too young a captain, and not equal 
to the duties of a flag-ship ; on which his Lordship 
sharply replied, “ That is my look-out, Sir, and not 
yours. If an admiral takes an officer for his captain 
who is unfit for the situation, the blame rests with 
him, and from what I have seen of you I am perfectly 
satisfied with the choice I have made.” 

The high opinion he entertained of Lord St. Vin- 

2 b 2 


372 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

cent, as a perfect naval officer, is strongly expressed 
in a letter of June 1798, dated Bognor Rocks, of 
which the following is an extract:— 

“ Come here for warm sea-bathing, though not yet 
arrived long enough to form an opinion of the extent 
in which it may prove advantageous. The report 
of your being sent to reinforce Lord St. Vincent tvas 
prevalent here some time since, which the sailing 
of the Toulon squadron probably gave rise to, before 
even any certain knowledge of it was obtained. I 
am glad of the appointment, as it may possibly lead 
to brilliant events, though not such in their conse¬ 
quences as to procure the Irish title you had a pros¬ 
pect of acquiring, had you continued on the Bantry 
Bay service. 

“ You fully justify my conjectures of the perfectly 
good discipline your chief admiral would establish, in 
any fleet he would have to conduct, as I believe I 
have before intimated in our conversations on such 
subjects. And being so seconded, with other subor¬ 
dinate flag-officers, who are likely to testify a corre¬ 
spondence in the same pursuits, added to a service of 
a nature to furnish a variety of instructive incidents— 
on these foundations, I do look to expect a degree of 
improvement in naval science, there was never before 
any prospect of having exemplified ; as it must be in 
a fleet on foreign service , where such perfection, as 
I have always thought possible to arrive at in our 
profession, would be first to take place ; little change 


XT.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 373 

of ships, and consequently of [ideas, being liable to 
happen under such circumstances.” 

Every letter indeed contains an eulogium on St. 
Vincent or Nelson: on the former having desired 
Sir Roger Curtis when writing, to make his kind 
regards to the great man (Lord Howe), under whom, 
he said, he had gained most of the useful knowledge 
he possessed of professional subjects, the Earl says 
in return, “ Were I addressing a Frenchman, I 
would rely on his inventive genius in the expression 
of suitable acknowledgments for your admiral’s com¬ 
plimentary remembrance. Become a Spaniard in 
your language, as you may rival that people in Cas¬ 
tilian integrity, I will only commission you to assure 
him, on my behalf, in simple veracity, that his emi¬ 
nent services have not exceeded my expectations, 
whenever adequate opportunity has occurred for 
proving the extent of his professional talents.” 
And in the same letter, he observes, “ Upon the 
success of Nelson’s operations much will undoubtedly 
depend towards the happy, and probably speedy, ter¬ 
mination of a war, necessary as I esteem it to have 
been engaged in, at its commencement, how long 
soever we may be doomed to feel the inconveniences, 
to which we may be exposed, after the restoration of 
peace. If Nelson figures in the Mediterranean, as 
we have just reason to suppose, in case he gets sight 
of the Toulon armament, his ships will not be left in 
a state to keep the sea.” And when he hears of the 


374 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

battle of the Nile, “ I will only observe,” he says, 
“ on the splendid achievements of Nelson, that one 
of the most remarkable features in the transaction 
consists in the eminently distinguished conduct of 
each of the captains of his squadron.” 

The gallant single action of the Mars with L’Her- 
cule was sure to attract his notice, though he had 
no explanation how it was conducted. “ It was en¬ 
gaged,” he says, “ you know in the night. I conclude, 
therefore, the Mars ranged up alongside of her oppo¬ 
nent, and brushed olf the ports on either pail; when 
they closed. But I don’t suppose the Mars was pre¬ 
pared to have dropt an anchor for retaining her posi¬ 
tion so closely, when she began her attack. In the 
night it would certainly require great skill and pre¬ 
cision in such an undertaking, practicable as I think 
it could be made in the day-time; and it seems pro¬ 
bable not to have been known that L’Hercule was at 
an anchor before the Mars got up to her. Great 
merit was, however, testified in the operation.” The 
facts are these—L’Hercule was compelled by the 
tide to anchor in the mouth of the Passage du Raz, 
when Captain Alexander Hood attacked her in a 
most gallant style, laying his ship so close alongside 
the enemy as to unhinge a great portion of her lower 
deck ports. After a bloody conflict of an hour 
and-a-half, L’Hercule surrendered. Captain Hood 
received a wound which proved mortal. The Mars 
had 17 killed, and with the wounded and missing, 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 375 

her loss amounted to 90. The enemy had 400 killed 
and wounded. She was a new 74-gun, ship from 
L’Orient, manned with 700 men. 

But his remarks are not confined to naval actions 
—to the talents or transactions of naval officers, or 
naval discipline and tactics—the good qualities or 
defects in ships of war, the innovations in their forms, 
their masts and rigging, equally engage his attention. 
By a passage in one of his letters about this time, it 
would appear that some approximation to the round 
sterns of Sir Robert Seppings was then in progress. 
“ The alteration of the ships’ sterns,” he says, “ by 
being closed abaft, and timbered up to the taffrail, 
has been determined, I understand, as well on account 
of a pretty general practice of West India origin, by 
shutting up the stern-walk, as by the more important 
consideration of the use thereby afforded of stern- 
chase guns. But if I were worthy of a station 
among you again, I should regret the loss of my 
airing-ground; though I believe the severity of my 
last three years’ complaint is to be specially ascribed 
to the wet, and constant currents of air, which 
gained free passage through the stern bulk-heads and 
quarter-galleries—more particularly when the wind 
was aft.” 

Lord Howe was quite the idol of his family. Suf¬ 
fering, as he did, almost constantly by gout in the 
latter years of his life, he was frequently precluded 
from joining the family party at table, and from seeing 


376 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

as much company as he wished to do; for, though of 
a reserved disposition, he was not indisposed to join 
in conversation. Lady Howe received frequent visits 
from the Queen and young Princesses at Porters. 
She was a lady rather particular with regard to the 
keeping a good table, and at one time had a French 
cook. Lord Howe was always exceedingly temperate 
in his habits: his appetite was small, and even when 
well he lived in the plainest manner, and when not 
in health generally dined alone at an early hour. At 
such times, the French cook waited on him in the 
morning to take his order for his own dinner, which 
day after day, for nearly three weeks, was “ a boiled 
chicken.” The cook, who could not understand the 
regular simplicity of Lord Howe’s taste, began to 
fancy this adherence to the same plain dish was in¬ 
tended as some slight upon his professional skill, and 
one morning he ventured thus to address him : “ Mi 
Lor, I get superbe pay, and I have notin—not modi to 
complain.” “ Well,” said Lord Howe, impatiently, 
“ what do you complain of ? ” “ Mi Lor, dat you do 

not allow me de honor to cook your dinner.” “ I 
thought you cooked it every day ! ” said Lord Howe. 
“ Yes, mi Lor, dat is, I boil de shicken, but dere is 
no cookery in dat.” “ Then,” said Lord Howe, “ you 
may roast de shicken to-day.” This is from an in¬ 
mate of the family at the time. 

The two last letters to his old and constant corre¬ 
spondent may be given entire, as specimens of his 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 377 

clear and comprehensive mind, even when the body 
appears to have been completely broken down by dis¬ 
ease ; both are dated from Porters Lodge, the former 
on the 13th of July 1799, and the latter the 20th of 
July of the same year—this being written sixteen days 
only before his death. In order fully to comprehend a 
portion of the former, it is necessary to state that Sir 
Roger Curtis was on the eve of departing to assume 
the chief command of the Cape of Good Hope station. 

“ 13th July, 1799. 

“ The expected ships being arrived, I conclude 
this will be the last letter I shall have occasion to 
send you; unless the wind continues in the western 
quarter, though by the regular variation of it, from 
the NE., SE., and finally to the NW., I think it 
probable that we shall have a succession of fine sum¬ 
mer weather. 

“ I am glad you are to have Stavorinus’ books. I 
have run them over rather rapidly, to discover the 
general tendency of the work; and though it treats 
mostly of the more eastern settlements of the Dutch, 
those parts even may not be uselessly meditated upon, 
in no great improbability, I conceive, that you may be 
called to take the command in the East Indies, if the 
war be not speedily terminated. 

“ Rainier seems to have done incomparably well 
on that station, but from what I heard of the state of 
his health some time since, I feared much for his life. 
If we may judge of the future by the past, in the 


378 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

negociations at Lisle, it was understood that the 
Cape particularly was to be retained by us. How 
that acquisition then was, or hereafter will be, recon- 
cileable to Holland, if the Stadtholder is to be re¬ 
instated in his authority, is much beyond my powers 
of comprehension. But should it be ultimately deter¬ 
mined, Stavorinus’ work furnishes many ideas which, 
under the jurisdiction of a liberal-minded governor, 
might probably contribute highly to the happiness of 
individuals as well as benefit to the state, by render¬ 
ing the settlement not less profitable than convenient 
—but a truce to comments. You are in possession 
of the book, and I am sorry you are not also in pos¬ 
session of the authority to carry into execution the 
many suggestions it appears to contain worthy of 
notice. 

“ The French certainly did view the divided situa¬ 
tions of Suwarrow’s force in the manner it occurs to 
you; and a passage in Lord William Bentinck’s 
letter seems to imply that, if the Russian General 
had planned his arrangements so as to be provided for 
frustrating any attempts upon either of his different 
appointments, he steered narrow by ; for the Gazette 
letter says that, ‘ when the French line retired behind 
the Trebbia, it was too late , and the troops were too 
much fatigued to make a general attack,’—deferred, 
therefore, ‘for the next morning .’ 

“ But if Suwarrow had actually failed of succeed¬ 
ing so amply in the general action as he seems to 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 379 

have done, not informed, and equally unqualified to 
judge, of the necessity for his engaging in so many 
undertakings at the same time, I have another reason 
why I should suspend my doubts, or venture to ques¬ 
tion his military capacity. Some occasions in our 
profession, and many I believe incident to the land 
service, will justify, if not require, more hazard to be 
ventured than can be systematically defended. 

“ In our action of the 1st of June, the pushing 
through the enemy’s line from to windward, (with 
respect of each ship against her opponent,) much risk 
of injury to each other was obvious. It would have 
been less, had every ship (which was not able to 
secure her adversary by close action to windward) 
gone through the enemy’s line as we did. 

“ But admitting the risk of mutual injury to be as 
great, as I believe many officers supposed, the times 
or peculiar circumstances of the country at that 
period, and the despondency and consequent discon¬ 
tent which would have prevailed in the kingdom at 
large, if a less positive decision in our favour had 
been the event of our efforts, called loudly, in my 
opinion, for some conclusive issue of the contest. If 
I am thought to need other justification thereon, 
might I not urge the occurrences of the 29tli of 
May ? In how much shorter time might the body 
of the fleet have joined us, when we were gotten 
through the enemy’s line to windward, had the body 
of the fleet tacked to join us, even before they had 


380 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [cil. 

passed the stern most of the enemy’s ships ? Had 
our ships then tacked, though apparently unable to 
weather the enemy’s sternmost ships, the body of 
the French being th en from, the windy on the star¬ 
board tack, their separated ships in the rear would 
have been far enough out of the way of our leading 
ships, before these last would have arrived in their 
wake to join the Queen Charlotte. 

“ What would then have been said of us had we 
regulated our conduct by the more obvious and more 
generally approved rule of naval tactics ? Thus then 
do I aim to defend my thesis, that hazards in war 
are more or less to be so construed, according to the 
circumstances of the case ; and in such manner, I 
make no doubt, it would be necessary for me to 
plead in my own defence, were I to answer for the 
indiscretions chargeable upon me in the direction of 
the fleet at that time. 

“ I am much of Lord St. Vincent’s opinion, that 
anchorage is inseparable from the best system of 
blockades; though when I consider the risks from 
damage to hulls, masts, and yards, by always keeping 
the sea for the same purpose, 1 still think (with the 
Spectator to Sir Roger de Coverly) that much may 
be said on both sides. 

“You hope all are well at Porters: my compa¬ 
nions, I thank God, are promisingly so. As to 
myself—read the last line of the last page but one, in 
the third volume of Stavorinus’ Appendix, and you 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 381 

will judge whether I have not fair cause to speak of 
myself as of my companions, able as I am to hobble 
about my house and near grounds for half an hour 
together in a morning—though going of seventy- 
four.” 

The next letter, and the last, is purely domestic :— 

“20th July 1799. 

“We have had as much pleasure as we are ca¬ 
pable of receiving, in the very satisfactory informa¬ 
tion your letter of the 17th contains. And I flatter 
myself the circumstance may be deemed a reasonable 
assurance, that you will not cease to be remembered 
in your absence, should any reason occur for looking 
farther eastward, whilst you are settled first on that 
side of our meridian. 

“We are at present a little uncomfortable here 
with the late accounts from Lady Altamont, who 
appears to be more seriously out of order than she, if 
conscious of it, will acknowledge, and Lord Altamont 
can believe. The little confidence we have in the 
skill of the Dublin physicians (become questionable 
by the nature of their prescriptions, and the little 
apparent benefit they have yet produced) has made 
so great an impression on Mary, that I could not but 
acquiesce in her desire for going over to Ireland, in 
the hope she entertains of being able to prevail on 
her sister to return to this country, for advising with 
a physician better acquainted with her constitution. 


382 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

“ I am conscious how natural it is, in absence, to 
indulge fears which, being present with the interest¬ 
ing party, we might see there is no cause to enter¬ 
tain, but which are not to be quieted without ocular 
conviction. Under these circumstances, therefore, 
Mary must he suffered to undertake this journey 
alone, as I am incapable of attending her, in case no 
better accounts are received before she begins her 
journey. 

“ You complained some time since, that weakened 
sight rendered it difficult for you to mend your own 
pens. When your hand-writing appears to you to 
need correctness, what is to be said of mine, in which 
I find I often add a stroke too much, or omit a letter, 
from indistinctness of vision, by not adhering to the 
just focal distance of my spectacles, for want of at¬ 
tention to a due upright position in this employment. 

“ Yours ever, 

(Signed) “ Howe.” 

Whatever the noble Earl may have thought of his 
hand-writing, it is a fact that, on comparing the 
earliest of his four hundred letters with the last, em¬ 
bracing a period of twenty-three years, if there be a 
difference at all, it is in favour of the latter ones—a 
proof that the hand, at least, was free from gout, 
though the lower extremities of the frame were by 
this time, after repeated attacks, rendered almost 
useless. By the advice of Dr. Warren, so long as 
he lived, and afterwards that of Dr. Pitcairn, until 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 383 

the latter was compelled to go to Lisbon for the 
benefit of his health, he had been enabled, at least he 
thought so, to soften the severity of the gouty attacks. 
Being thus deprived of the assistance and advice of 
these two able physicians, and feeling the rigour of 
the disorder increasing, he was prevailed upon to try 
the effect of electricity, which at that time was creep¬ 
ing into fashion as a remedy for all manner of dis¬ 
eases. He left Porters for that purpose, and came 
up to Grafton-street, where he placed himself under 
the care of the practitioner most in fashion. After 
a few trials, however, the gout was supposed to have 
been driven to the head, and with such severity that 
he sunk rapidly under it, and expired on the 5th of 
August 1799. His remains were removed for inter¬ 
ment to the family vault in Nottinghamshire; the 
burial being conducted in the same private and un¬ 
ostentatious manner in which he had lived, free from 
pomp or parade. The inscription on the plate of his 
coffin, which was of stout English oak,—emblem of 
the heart it enclosed,—was simply as under:— 

RICHARD HOWE, 

Earl and Viscount Howe, 

Viscount Howe, and Baron Clenawley, in Ireland, 

Admiral of the Fleet, 

General of his Majesty’s Marine Forces, and 
Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, 

Died 5th of August 
1799, 

Aged 73 Years. 


384 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

His Lordship having died without male issue, his 
Irish honours descended to his brother, the General 
Sir Wm. Howe; the English titles of earl and 
viscount were extinct.# His eldest daughter, Char- 
lotte-Sophia, and her heirs-male, claimed the English 
barony; and from her is descended the present Earl 
Howe, grandson to the admiral, who had been raised 
to the earldom in 1788 ; his grandson in 1821. The 
baroness was married to Mr. Penn-Assheton Curzon, 
eldest son of Viscount Curzon; and on his death, a 
second time to Sir Jonathan Wathen Waller, Bart. 
Louisa-Catherine, the youngest daughter of the ad¬ 
miral, married Lord Altamont, of Westport, Ireland, 
afterwards created Marquis of Sligo, whom she sur¬ 
vived, and married a second time Sir William Scott, 
afterwards Lord Stowell. 

On the 3rd of October 1799, Mr. Dundas, on 
proposing a monument to be erected to the memory 
of Earl Howe, pronounced, in the House of Com¬ 
mons, the following eulogium:—“ Sir, it is my in¬ 
tention to lay before the house a motion upon which 
I do not think it necessary to say many words. I 
am persuaded I am not singular in the feelings I 
entertain in consequence of the lamented death of 
the late Earl Howe. There can be but one unani¬ 
mous sentiment pervading the country as to the pro¬ 
priety of not suffering that noble lord to go out of 
the world without publicly testifying the regard due 
to his memory. On various occasions his Majesty, 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 385 

with the concurrence of this house, has shown his 
regard for eminent services by individuals; and 
whenever his Majesty has thought proper to dis¬ 
tinguish any one by conferring exalted honour on 
him for the services rendered the country, this house 
has never failed to interpose and second the inten¬ 
tions of his Majesty, by conferring a substantial 
and honourable pecuniary reward. In the present 
case, however, no consideration of that kind has 
occurred: the noble lord, by his own merit, was 
advanced to a seat in the other house, and from the 
situation of his family there was no occasion to re¬ 
munerate him in a pecuniary point of view. There 
therefore only remains one way by which the house 
can manifest its sense of his services, and that is, by 
the erection of a monument to his memory. To his 
respectable family it will afford a considerable degree 
of consolation, for the loss they have sustained by 
being thus deprived of their head, to find that his 
merits have not been forgotten by his country. To 
the public it is of importance to keep alive the re¬ 
membrance of the brilliant services by great and 
eminent characters. To every generous mind it is 
of importance that such services should be distin¬ 
guished, as there is nothing that can more stimulate 
to the performance of brilliant actions than the cer¬ 
tainty of having them recorded to posterity. On 
these grounds, without any further observation, I 
shall move, That an humble address be presented to 

2c 


386 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

his Majesty, praying that his Majesty will be gra¬ 
ciously pleased to give directions for the erection of 
a monument in the Cathedral of St. Paul’s to the 
memory of Admiral Earl Howe, with an inscription 
expressive of the eminent services rendered to his 
country, in the course of his long and laborious life, 
and particularly by the important service performed 
by his brilliant and decisive victory over the French 
fleet on the 1st of June 1794.” 

A splendid monument was accordingly erected in 
St. Paul’s, from a design by Flaxman—a full length 
figure of the Earl, finely proportioned; behind the 
right shoulder sits Minerva, holding a trident; near 
his left foot a lion couchant; Clio, the Muse of 
History, writing (while a sister Muse looks on)— 
“ Gibraltar relieved , October 11, 1782 —The French 

fleet defeated, June -On the front of the 

platform on which Minerva appears on the right, 
and the prow of the Queen Charlotte on the left, 
of the Earl, is the following inscription :— 

“ Erected at the public expense to the Memory of 
ADMIRAL EARL HOWE, 

In testimony of the general sense of his great and meritorious services. 

In the course of a long and distinguished life, and in particular 
For the benefit derived to his country, by the brilliant 
Victory which he obtained 

Over the French fleet, off Ushant, the 1st of June 1794. 

He was born 19th of March 1726,* and died 5th of August 1799, 

In his 74 th year.” 

To his widow, the countess, and his unmarried 

* The family date his birth in 1725. 



XI«] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 387 

and interesting daughter. Lady Mary, it would be 
superfluous to say that the loss of so good and 
amiable a husband and father was irreparable, and 
most severely felt. It appears indeed to have preyed 
so deeply on their spirits and health, as to lead to 
the conclusion by their friends that the consequence 
would be, in all human probability, to shorten their 
lives. The consolations they received in their afflic¬ 
tion, from the several branches of the Royal Family, 
must have been most gratifying and soothing under 
the severe loss they had sustained. The Queen and 
Princesses paid them a visit at Porters Lodge; and 
if any alleviation could be communicated, under their 
melancholy privation, the following beautiful letter 
from that good and gracious King, George III., 
addressed to the sister of the deceased earl, must 
have had that effect. 

Letter from the King to Mrs. Howe, on the death 
of Earl Howe :— 

“Weymouth, September 2nd, 1799. 

“ I trust Mrs. Howe knows me better than to 
suppose my long silence, on the great loss the public 
has sustained as well as her family by the unexpected 
death of her excellent brother, has been occasioned 
by any other motive than the desire not to intrude, 
while she was so fully employed in acts of attentive 
kindness to her relations, who must have found much 
comfort from such attention. I trust the example 
he has set to the navy will long continue to stimulate, 

2 c 2 


388 


LIFE OF EARL IIOWE. 


[CH. 

not only the matchless bravery of the officers, but 
convince them of the necessity to view the profession 
in a scientific light, by which alone those improve¬ 
ments are to be acquired, which will retain that su¬ 
periority over other nations which every Englishman 
must desire. 

“His exemplary conduct in private life must, on 
the present melancholy occasion, be the only true 
comfort to those who loved him, as it gives that 
hope of his having quitted this transient world for 
eternal happiness, through the mediation of our 
blessed Redeemer. If I did not feel the propriety 
of not adding more on so glorious a theme, my pen 
would but too willingly continue. 

“ The family, I find, are removed to Porters 
Lodge; the first moments there were of fresh sor¬ 
row, but I trust that the quietness of the place and 
the good air will be of use. I fear Mrs. Howe does 
not now render that justice to air she formerly did; 
but if she was here, and saw how well it agrees with 
her little friend, and how much she hops about, I 
think she could not deny it has some efficacy. 

(Signed) “ George R.” 

To this letter the following is the answer of Mrs. 
Howe:— 

“ September 3, 1799. 

f< Mrs. Howe can give no other answer to her 
most gracious Sovereign than tears of sensibility 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 389 

and gratitude; the constant approbation of your 
Majesty, during his life, is the highest eulogium that 
could be written upon Earl Howe's tomb; and his 
family must always feel comfort from that, and for 
the honour your Majesty is pleased to confer upon 
his memory. His loss to his family is undoubtedly 
irreparable, but Mrs. Howe can truly say, she should 
still more mourn his death, had his health been such 
as to have given hope he could have continued to 
prove his duty to his King, by further actions which 
might have been beneficial to his country. 

“ Mrs. Howe rejoices in the mended health of the 
Princess Amelia; she prays that it may soon be 
perfected, and that every blessing, which affection 
and duty can wish, may now and ever attend your 
Majesty and your august family.” 

The kind attention to the family of the late Earl 
Howe was not confined to the King alone; the 
Prince of Wales addressed the following letter to 
Mrs. Howe, on the death of her brother :— 

“ My dear Mrs. PIowe, — I called to inquire 
after you and after Lady Howe, and am sorry you 
have not been so good as to say just how you do. It 
was far from my intention, I assure you, to intrude, 
having nothing to say but to offer my regrets at 
what your whole family has to suffer, especially as it 
is the height of folly to pretend to offer, under such 
circumstances, anything in the shape of comfort. I 


390 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

hope you are as well as can be expected, and that 
you will allow me just to justify myself, as I pass 
through London the end of the ensuing week, for no 
one can have a more sincere regard or greater re¬ 
spect for you, than 

“ Your very sincere friend, 

(Signed) “ George P. 

“ Windsor Castle, August 10, 1799.” 

The uninterrupted correspondence that had been 
kept up, for so many years, between the noble earl 
and Sir Roger Curtis, was continued with the latter 
by the remaining females of the family ; and from it 
may be collected some interesting particulars regard¬ 
ing their situation and feelings. On the 14th of 
January 1800, the countess, in a letter from Porters, 
says,— 

“ My Mary and I have been here for four months; 
Charlotte and Louisa stayed with me till about a 
month ago, when Louisa returned to Ireland, and 
Charlotte to Lord Curzon’s. I purpose staying here 
a month longer, as Mary and myself find the quiet 
more suited to our present unhappy situation, than 
what the world would call amusing our thoughts, 
which, God knows, is not in the power of the world 
to do. My children are, I thank the Almighty, all 
well, and in every instance the most affectionate 
children any mother was ever blessed with. 

“ By the English papers you will see the vote in 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 391 

parliameht for the monument in St. Paul’s. I think 
it will instantly strike you, as it did me, to wish 
they had given less mortification during that dear 
object’s life, than to cover their ill-conduct to him 
by this outward show of respect to his memory; but 
this is a subject I must not get upon. 

“ You will like to know that nothing can have 
been more strongly marked than the King’s affection 
and regrets; the Queen came over to me here, as 
soon as she returned from Weymouth; and the 
King ordered my daughters to see him first in 
private, ‘ as less painful to them and to himself/ 
But I must stop writing; this is a subject I could 
for ever dwell upon, but it will be painful to you 
and hurtful to me. I will only add, God bless you 
with health. 

“ Yours, &c. 

“ M. Howe.” 


In a postcript, Lady Mary says“ I have begged 
her letter from my mother, supposing you would like 
a line also from me—what sad substitutes for what 
you have been accustomed to receive from this house! 
Your letter, though pleasant, has brought on a gush 
of sorrow which I fear will long be produced by 
everything pleasant formerly shared in —but I do 
not know what I am running into; I wanted to tell 
you more than my beloved mother has said about 
herself. I would flatter myself she has no positive 


392 LIFE OF FALL HOWE. [CH. 

complaint, but she is thinner and more altered than 
imagination could suppose, but not more than those 
who have known the interior of this family will easily 
comprehend.” 

On the 28th of February 1800, the countess 
writes thus :—“ Nothing that is interesting to me or 
my family will ever be indifferent to you; I there¬ 
fore take the first moment to tell you my beloved 
Mary is soon to go from under my protection to that 
of Lord Morton’s. My first object is, that I have 
every reason to think it is a connection that would 
not have been objected to by the ever to be lamented 
dear friend I have lost. It is a source of much 
comfort to me to reflect I shall leave her under the 
protection of a man of honour and of principle, 
which, in my present precarious state of health, is a 
great consolation to me.” 

A few weeks after this, Mrs. Howe makes the 
following mournful communication, dated 10th of 
April 1800 :—“ It now again falls to me to acquaint 
you with an event you will most heavily feel: Lady 
Mary, who was to have married Lord Morton in a 
few weeks, the man of her choice, and with the 
highest approbation of all her friends, and of all who 
loved her—and who, ever’ acquainted with that most 
perfect of human beings, did not love and adore her ? 
—was seized by a violent fever (which had been 
coming on some days) and took to her bed on 
Sunday evening, the 30th of March ; and yesterday. 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 393 

the 9th of April, we lost her. Lady Howe is over¬ 
whelmed in sorrow, and, in her state of health, I 
think the worst is to be feared. Lord Howe is in 
the utmost grief; the Baroness Howe keeps herself 
up, to be of use to her mother, but suffers most 
heavily ;—but I need not add more on this sad, very 
sad subject.” 

The sudden and unexpected death of this amiable 
and accomplished young lady, at a moment when the 
bright prospect of happiness was full before her, calls 
forth the sympathy and affectionate regard of the 
good old King, who thus addresses her aunt, Mrs. 
Howe, on this melancholy occasion, in a strain of 
piety that reflects honour on the memory of this ex¬ 
cellent sovereign:— 

“ Queen’s House, April 9, 1800. 

“ The King would not for one moment have 
diverted Mrs. Howe from her heroic efforts to sup¬ 
port Countess Howe, on the fresh severe affliction 
she has met with, but from the strong desire he has 
that, on the first proper occasion, she will express, 
in his name, to the countess, how sincerely he par¬ 
ticipates in her grief; it is impossible to have known 
the truly angelic mind now departed and be insen¬ 
sible to the feelings of the excellent mother. The 
King trusts that the true confidence the countess 
has always placed in Divine Providence will be her 
true stay on this most trying occasion, and that both 
she and the Baroness Howe will not too strongly 


394 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

struggle against the real feelings of nature: tears 
are the necessary indulgence on such an occasion ; 
and Divine Providence certainly cannot blame hu¬ 
manity for giving way to what alone, in the first 
moments, can give ease ; the mind must have ob¬ 
tained some calm before the only true assistant, 
religion, can give its real aid ; my mind is so full I 
could add much more, but stop on reflecting that I 
am detaining Mrs. Howe, whose good sense and 
singular resolution are necessarily employed in sup¬ 
porting the mother and daughter. 

(Signed) “George R.’ , 

Mrs. Howe gives a melancholy account of the 
countess and family:—“ Lady Altamont,” she says, 
“ came over from Ireland directly to her mother, and 
neither she, nor the baroness, nor Lord Morton, have 
ever been many hours together without being with 
her: my accounts from Porters Lodge are, that she 
sleeps better for the air, and that upon the whole 
there is a trifle of amendment; but that she can ever 
feel happiness in this world again is not to be ex¬ 
pected, but time, of course, will bring composure and 
resignation.”—But, alas! the shaft of death had pe¬ 
netrated the heart. tC On the 9th of August 1800,” 
says Mrs. Howe, “ she was released from a year of 
sad sorrow, but her death was an easy one. Her 
two affectionate and dutiful daughters never left her 
till the last scene was closed.” In writing to Sir 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 395 

Roger Curtis, Mrs. Howe says, “ The countess de¬ 
sired a keepsake she named might be presented to 
you. It is a very fine seal, engraved upon a topaz, 
and will have an additional value to you, by having 
once belonged to your angelic friend Lady Mary.” 

The kind and considerate King, on hearing the 
death of the countess, again addresses Mrs. Howe:— 
“Weymouth, August 10, 1800. 

“ Mrs. Howe’s constant exertions to be useful to 
her relations must be fully employed at the present 
moment, in supporting Ladies Altamont and Howe 
in their scene of sorrow; yet I could not refrain from 
wishing she would, at a proper time, express to them 
how sincerely I sympathize with them on the present 
melancholy occasion. It is impossible for any one 
who saw how deeply the Tate countess’s heart was 
affected, as well as the weakness to which her frame 
was reduced, could look on her exit but as a release; 
and I am certain the great fatigue her daughters 
have, in the most exemplary manner, undergone, 
must have proved fatal to them if of much longer 
duration. 

“ They have most scrupulously fulfilled their duty 
to a most kind parent, but that towards their children 
must make them now attend to their own health,, 
which I hope, by due care, may soon be re-esta¬ 
blished. 


(Signed) “ George R. : 


396 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

On the same day, and on the same occasion, the 
Prince of Wales writes to Mrs. Howe as follows:— 

“Brighton, August 10, 1800. 

“ Dear Mrs. Howe, —Among the many inqui¬ 
ries after you upon the late melancholy event in 
your family, there will he none that you will receive 
more sincere, I trust, than those you will receive 
from my pen. The fortitude of your mind, and your 
own excellent understanding, are such strong sup¬ 
ports, even under the greatest calamities, that I 
should flatter myself that your health would suffer 
hut little injury, though upon this very trying oc¬ 
casion. 

“ I do not mean to trespass long upon you, espe¬ 
cially at this moment, hut when you are sufficiently 
at your leisure, I shall truly rejoice at having a line 
from you to inform me that you are as well as all 
your friends can wish you to he. Adieu ! my dearest 
Madam, and believe me 

“ Ever your very sincere 

“ And affectionate friend, 

“ George P.” 

The affectionate regard thus evinced hy the King 
and the Prince of Wales, and the concern they 
express at the domestic afflictions of Earl Howe’s 
surviving family, lead to the conclusion that a much 
more extended epistolary intercourse must have suh- 


XI.] RETIREMENT, ILLNESS, AND DEATH. 397 

sisted, between the Royal Family and Mrs. Howe, 
than the few letters now supplied on the melancholy 
occasions to which they refer, and which may be 
considered as brands snatched from the fire. The 
good old King, indeed, would appear to have been 
so constant a correspondent of Mrs. Howe, that 
he communicates to her what personally and nearly 
concerns himself—the progress he is making from a 
state of blindness to the restoration of his sight. 
This information is addressed to her, in a note 
scarcely legible, and written evidently while vision 
was yet very imperfect:— 

“ Royal Sovereign, off Portland, July 1805. 

“The King takes up his pen to acquaint Mrs. 
Howe that he certainly sees better than he did some 
days past, and begins to flatter himself that with 
time he shall regain perfect sight. 

(Signed) “George R.” 

How much of the familiar and domestic corre¬ 
spondence of the Howe family perished in the flames, 
that consumed the library at Westport, no conjecture 
can be formed, nor does any account of it appear to 
exist; but as the Marchioness of Sligo was ap¬ 
pointed executrix of Mrs. Howe’s affairs, as well as 
those of the Earl Howe, it is more than probable 
that all her papers shared the same fate as the rest; 
and being a lady of very extensive acquaintance, and 
her house the resort of the first personages in the 


398 LIFE OF EARL HOWE, [CH. 

kingdom, and of men distinguished for literary and 
scientific acquirements, it can scarcely be doubted 
that much curious and valuable correspondence has 
perished on the unfortunate occasion, and very likely 
many letters from her brother, the Earl, in the early 
part of his career, of which, as coming from himself, 
we literally know nothing; much must undoubtedly 
still remain in private hands, and it is to be hoped 
may yet see the light. 



XII.] 


TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 


399 


CHAPTER XII. 

MISCELLANEOUS TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 

General observations—Howe and Wolfe—Howe’s bravery and cool¬ 
ness never disputed — Comparative instance of the latter — His 
person, features, and manners described—Erroneous character of 
him by the Americans—His humane and benevolent character 
exemplified—His generosity—His good nature, in a long instruc¬ 
tion to Captain Fanshawe, how to conduct himself at Court—His 
kindness to young officers — Interesting account given by Sir 
Robert Barlow in consequence of this—Free from anger or resent¬ 
ment — The word blockhead the strongest of reproach in four 
hundred letters—Irritating conduct of Lord Bridport borne with 
calmness—A solitary quarrel with, and challenge to, Captain Lord 
Harvey—Full apology of the latter—Howe’s readiness to bestow 
praise on naval officers—On frigate captains not rewarded—In¬ 
stances of his attention to naval science—His domestic circle— 
Howe, St. Vincent, and Nelson, the three greatest naval officers of 
their times—Their characters compared—Brief summary of that of 
Earl Howe. 


After what has been depicted in the preceding 
pages, to repeat the various deeds of valour by 
which the professional life of Howe was distin¬ 
guished, would be a thankless and unprofitable 
labour; it is enough to observe, that he never failed 
in the execution of his purpose, where he had the 
direction and command. His moral character was 
unimpeachable, and not less worthy of admiration 
than the glory of his military career; so that it may 


400 LTFE OF EARL HOWE. [CII. 

be truly said of him, as of the Chevalier Bayard—he 
lived sans peur et sans reproche. A love of enter¬ 
prise, and gallant hearing, are so prevalent in the 
naval service of Great Britain, and so common to 
naval officers of every rank, that they almost cease to 
he a distinction ; though they are frequently brought 
into action under different aspects, according to the 
genius and temperament of individuals—with cool¬ 
ness, firmness, and systematic arrangement, as in the 
case of Earl Howe—with eagerness and ardour, and 
a total disregard of danger and of life, as in that of 
Viscount Nelson. The French pilot in Basque 
Roads preferred Howe to all others in the squadron 
—parcequil etait jeune et brave . He no doubt 
judged rightly in giving the preference to youth and 
valour, the effects of which he had experienced in 
the person of Howe, when he placed the Magnanime 
under the walls of Isle d’Aix. If Howe and Wolfe 
had commanded on this occasion in Basque Roads, 
instead of Knowles and Mordaunt, they would no 
doubt have succeeded where these great officers 
failed ; of the same age, the same comparative rank, 
and engaged on the same enterprize, “ they con¬ 
tracted a friendship,” as Walpole says, “ like the 
union of cannon and gunpowder; ’’ it was an union 
of sentiment, founded on mutual greatness of soul, 
love of their king and country, and contempt of 
danger. There is meaning in the metaphor—Howe, 
strong in mind, solid in judgment, firm of purpose— 


XII.] TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 401 

is the cannon; the gunpowder is Wolfe—quick in 
conception, prompt in execution, impetuous in action. 

“ Wolfe, where’er he fought, 

Put so much of his heart into his act. 

That his example had a magnet’s force, 

And all were swift to follow whom all loved.” 

Of Howe’s military character, therefore, as far as 
undaunted bravery is concerned, nothing further than 
what has been stated need be advanced. Sir Robert 
Barlow says, “ He was no less remarkable for pa¬ 
tient endurance under adverse events, than for his 
personal bravery in all situations, and no man had a 
higher sense of honour.” Of his coolness in moments 
of danger, instances have also been given. One more 
may here be added, to shew how very differently the 
feelings of officers in this respect are acted upon, 
though equally brave in the face of an enemy : it is 
furnished by a gallant admiral, who served with both 
officers to whom it relates. 

When Howe was in command of the Channel 
fleet, after a dark and boisterous night, in which the 
ships had been in some danger of running foul of 
each other. Lord Gardner, then third in command, 
the next day went on board the Queen Charlotte, 
and inquired of Lord Howe how he had slept, for 
that he himself had not been able to get any rest 
from anxiety of mind. Lord Howe said he had 
slept perfectly well, for as he had taken every pos¬ 
sible precaution he could before dark, he laid him- 


402 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

self down with a conscious feeling that everything 
had been done, which it was in his power to do, for 
the safety of the ship, and the lives of those intrusted 
to his care, and this conviction set his mind at ease. 
Lord Gardner, one of the best and bravest of men, 
and a thorough seaman, was always nervous and 
anxious, except when in presence of an enemy, when 
his energy and bravery overpowered every other 
solicitude. The extraordinary difference of feeling 
between Howe and Gardner is further exemplified 
by an anecdote of the latter, told by Admiral Sir 
James Whitshed, who commanded the Alligator, and 
was next to him in the line. Such was Gardner’s 
anxiety, even in ordinary weather that, though each 
ship carried three poop-lanterns, he had always one 
kept burning in his cabin, and when he thought the 
Alligator was approaching too near, he used to run 
out into the stern-gallery with the lantern in his 
hand, waving it so as to be noticed. 

The person of Lord Howe is said to have been tall 
and well proportioned; his countenance of a serious 
cast, strongly marked, and dark; at the same time 
there was a shyness and awkwardness in his manner, 
which to a stranger at first sight gave rather an un¬ 
favourable impression ; that, however, is said to have 
soon worn off, and the expression of his features to 
have assumed a very different and an animated cha¬ 
racter, assuming that benign aspect which corre¬ 
sponded with his disposition. “ His person,” says Sir 


XII.] TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 403 

Robert Barlow, who knew him well, “ was perfectly 
well formed, and his countenance, though perhaps 
at first sight somewhat harsh, softened into a most 
gracious smile occasionally, and was expressive of 
that kindness and benevolence, which distinguished 
him as a husband, a father, and a friend.” 

The Americans, that is to say the loyalists, or, as 
they called themselves, refugees, abused Lord Howe 
in all the papers and pamphlets of the day, because 
he refused their solicitations to grant them letters of 
marque to cruize against the rebels—“ sternly,” says 
one writer, “replying, will you never have done 
oppressing these poor people ? Will you never give 
them an opportunity of seeing their error ? ” This 
portion of the population wished him to carry fire 
and sword into all the towns and villages along the 
whole line of coast, that had not submitted to the 
King’s government; but Howe had come to America 
for a very opposite and beneficent purpose. They 
had heard of his bravery, but could not comprehend 
that true valour and humanity are always allied; that 
he is the real hero who knows how to temper con¬ 
quest with mercy; to subdue an enemy by kind¬ 
ness ; and avoid, as far as possible, the shedding of 
blood, either of his own people or of his opponents, 
finally obtaining a victory with the least sacrifice of 
human beings. This was the feeling that actuated 
Howe in America; and his forbearance procured 
him abundance of abuse. “ He thinks himself, says 

2 d 2 


404 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

the same writer, “ equal to everything; he commu¬ 
nicates with none but his brother; their measures are 
purely their own; in making him a politician, they 
have put him quite out of his latitude; ” and after a 
great deal of opprobrious language, makes the ad¬ 
mission that, “ after all, as a man, he is deservedly 
esteemed. His moral character is unimpeachable in 
every respect : he is quite the contrast of a certain 
person ; and in the naval line, he has not a superior. 
The bravest man could not wish for a more able, or 
more gallant commander.” 

Another writer, who takes a review of the war, in 
speaking of the two brothers, says, “ They had in 
common the sullen family gloom: in one thing they 
differed; Sir William hated business, and never did 
any; my Lord loved business, dwelt upon it, and 
never could leave or end it. Their uniform character 
through life has been, and is to this day, haughty, 
morose, hard-hearted, and inflexible.” 

This, from an enemy, utterly unacquainted with 
Lord Howe’s character, may be held excusable; or 
even from a disappointed friend, had it been true; 
but it is in every respect the reverse of truth : instead 
of being “ morose ” or sullen, his temper was of the 
most placid kind ; his manner, it is true, was re¬ 
served, but had no tinge of “ haughtiness; ” and so 
far from being “ hard-hearted,” there never existed 
a more kind-hearted and humane man than Lord 
Howe. This may be fearlessly affirmed; but that 


XII.] TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 405 

one assertion may not be taken as proof against 
another of a contrary tendency, a few instances in 
point may be offered, in addition to those already 
given, to substantiate the favourable traits of his moral 
character. It may however be observed, in passing, 
that a haughty and hard-hearted man would not have 
shed tears of gratitude, when the brave fellows of the 
1st of June came aft to return their gallant com¬ 
mander their thanks for having led them to victory— 
a haughty and hard-hearted man would not have 
condescended to exercise that humane disposition, 
which we are assured by his own secretary he 
was accustomed to do—“ by going down below 
after an action, and talking to every wounded man, 
sitting by the sides of their cradles, and constantly 
ordering his live-stock and wines to be applied to 
their use, at the discretion of the surgeon, and at all 
times for the sick on board.” It was by such acts 
as these, and many other little kindnesses and in¬ 
dulgences shewn to his men, that he obtained the 
appellation of “ the sailor’s friend.” 

The anecdote that has been given of the introduc¬ 
tion of the Nottingham lad into the service, at his 
own charge and expense, and the trouble he took on 
his account, at a time when suffering under the inflic¬ 
tion of gout, bespeaks a kind and compassionate heart. 
It did not stop here: pleased with the lad’s conduct, 
he says, “ Having had a letter from Duffty, with 
good assurances of his assiduity, I trouble you with a 


406 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

note for him, to convey my confidence in the perma¬ 
nency of his commendable exertions. I believe I 
shall adopt the lad as my future representative, if he 
perseveres in meriting the favourable reports you 
make of his behaviour.” Numerous instances appear 
in his correspondence of his readiness to assist humble 
merit, or to perform some act of beneficence. Of 
this kind, the following may be taken as an instance: 
—“ I have still,” he says to his correspondent, “ an¬ 
other commission for you. I have lately received a 
letter from the two Miss Saunders, resident in High- 
street-road, Portsmouth, as their letter specifies. 
They are the daughters of a Captain Saunders of the 
29th Regiment, killed in the Brunswick in 1794. 
I think you are not quite a stranger to the particu¬ 
lars of their melancholy situation. In consequence 
of their memorial to the King for some provision to 
be made for them, they were placed upon what is 
termed the Compassionate List; a charity connected, 
I believe, with the War Department. The greatest 
amount that fund can afford is only 18/., to be an¬ 
nually divided between them. It appears to me they 
would not have been improper objects for the Mari¬ 
time Pension List; but, alas ! I have met with such 
contemptuous treatment from the principals in that 
department, that I should be incapable of promoting 
the object, were anything attempted in that line; 
and now the scanty provision even they have ob¬ 
tained on the former establishment, would militate 


XII.] 


TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 


407 


against their admission upon the other. I therefore 
request you will be the instrument for having 20/. 
conveyed to them, and I will take care to have it 
replaced here in any manner I am directed.” 

This is but one case of a multitude which might 
be quoted. He was generous in the extreme; and 
his example affords perhaps the only instance on 
record of a commander-in-chief giving up his share 
of prize-money for the benefit of the officers and 
men of the fleet. When, in 1798, the Bank was 
empowered to receive voluntary contributions for 
defraying the expenses of the war, the Noble Earl, 
then confined to his bed, commissioned the Countess 
to receive his annual pay of General of Marines 
(1800/.), in which was included his Admiral’s half- 
pay, and take it to the Bank as his contribution—the 
only emolument of any description he received from 
the public. His private charities were extensive. 

His never-ceasing kindness in providing for all 
those who had been in his service; the donations he 
orders to be paid to those whom he has been unable 
to provide for; the deep interest he takes in all the 
officers who served under him, and his constant anxiety, 
more particularly for that gallant officer Sir Andrew 
Snape Douglas, who suffered severely, for three years 
previous to his death, from the wound he received in 
his head in the battle of the 1st of June, are so many 
proofs of his charitable and considerate disposition. 

The kind feeling, so truly characteristic of his 


408 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

habitual good nature, is strongly manifested in the 
following long letter, which he took the trouble to 
write to Captain Fanshawe, an officer just returned 
from the West Indies after a gallant action, in which 
the Monmouth he had commanded was almost shat¬ 
tered to pieces; the task of writing it is the more 
remarkable, the subject appearing, as the Noble 
Lord himself observes, “trifling.” He had addressed 
a complimentary letter to Captain Fanshawe on the 
gallant exploit he had performed, in which he says, 
“ I have not heard that you were presented to 
the King upon your return to England. Your 
happy fortune (for you will be offended if I say 
your merit) gives you, in my opinion, such a just 
title to that customary pretension, that I cannot 
refrain from recommending it to your consideration, 
whether you should not make it the particular pur¬ 
pose of a journey to town.” A fortnight after, he 
writes the following:— 

“ Grafton-street, 1st February, 1780. 

“ Dear Sir,—As in your favour of the 23rd in¬ 
stant you do not name any fixed time for being in 
town, and that as I propose going to Bath some time 
in the next week, for a stay of three weeks or a 
month, whereby it may happen that I shall not be 
here when you come to town, I venture to recom¬ 
mend some little attentions to your notice which, 
however trifling they may appear in other respects, 
are not equally immaterial within the limits of the 


XII.] 


TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 


409 


Court, if you determine upon going there at that 
time. Perhaps such intimations may be unnecessary, 
but I am persuaded the motive for offering them 
will, in your goodness, excuse the impropriety. 

“ The customs of the Court require, that you 
should acquaint the Lord of the Bedchamber in 
ivaiting with your desire of being presented to the 
King. This is most conveniently done (though any 
person names or introduces you to the Lord in 
Waiting) by giving your name to him, written on a 
card, with the addition of your being ‘ late captain 
of the Monmouth .’ Such a notification of your 
character accommodates the King in the choice of a 
subject, on which he may wish to speak to you, when 
you have been presented. It is possible he may ask 
you c how long you have been in town, or of the 
purpose that brings you up out of the country ? ’ If 
questions of this sort, giving you an opportunity to 
speak without impropriety on the occasion, should 
offer, it appears to me very consistent for you to 
speak of the cause of your coming to town, as being 
e to pay your duty to his Majesty, which you had 
been prevented from doing upon your first arrival in 
England, by particular business that required youi 
presence with your family immediately.’ If you see 
a fit occasion to speak of the stay you purpose to 
make in town (another question not unlikely to be 
asked of you), your letters, offering your service at 
the Admiralty, suggest a very suitable answer in the 


410 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

declaration that c you proposed staying now in town 
only until you should be able to inform yourself, 
whether the tender you had some time since presumed 
to make of your humble services again at sea, would 
procure for you the honour of being appointed to 
another ship, the Monmouth having been paid off on 
her return to England.’ I have mentioned these heads 
of conversation only, as in their relation to the claims 
of the King’s notice, which your adventures abroad 
have given you. I am assured they would be the last 
that would occur, on such an occasion, to yourself— 
and I am with the greatest esteem, 

“ Yours, &c. 

“ Howe.” 

The above letter is curious in another respect, by 
bringing us back to the days of George the Third, 
when the people did not flock in crowds to his levees 
as of late years, and when the good old King walked 
round the circle and held conversation individually 
with his visiters. 

Lord Howe was strongly averse from the system 
of striking officers’ names off the list, and was of 
opinion that the law ought to be altered to admit of 
their cases being inquired into by a court, composed 
of their brother officers ; he reprobated a custom, then 
prevalent in the navy, of dismissing midshipmen with 
very little ceremony for the first, and perhaps trifling, 
offence, and said, if it was not of too grave a nature, 
he should always be disposed to give them a second 


XII.] 


TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 


411 


trial, with an admonition and a caution to be more 
circumspect in future. Numbers of instances of this 
forbearance and good nature might here be noticed, 
but there is one of a peculiar character more parti¬ 
cularly deserving of being brought forward, which, 
though not the immediate act of Lord Howe, was the 
result of his opinion on this subject. At a private 
dinner party, his Lordship took occasion to express 
his sentiments strongly on this point, and said it 
would be inhuman, and was not justifiable, to con¬ 
demn and to consign to ruin a young person for 
shewing symptoms of “ infirmity,” (or shyness,) on 
being for the first time engaged in battle; and he 
quoted an instance in which he had rescued a young 
man from obloquy and destruction to all his future 
prospects, who afterwards proved himself a brave and 
good officer. Sir Robert Barlow, who was present, 
says, “ this made an impression on my mind which 
many years afterwards influenced my conduct on a 
similar and rather an interesting occasion.” The 
following is Sir Robert’s letter on that subject 

“ In the first action in the Phoebe, under my com¬ 
mand, when she captured the French frigate Nereide, 
one of my young mids was accused by his ship¬ 
mates of having behaved in a cowardly manner. I 
however silenced them by the strong hand of power, 
and we heard no more of it: but, about two yeais 
afterwards, when we were coming up with the 


412 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

French frigate Africaine, which also we had the 
good fortune to capture, the same youth came to me 
and said, ‘ Sir, you have not forgotten what passed 
after the capture of the Nere'ide. I trust I shall, on 
the occasion about to take place, convince you that 
the reports to my disadvantage then were groundless.’ 

“ However strange it may appear, the Africaine 
was no sooner captured than reports were in circula¬ 
tion unfavourable to the youth in question, and they 
went so far as to affirm that, having received an order 
from one, which he was to deliver to the officer on 
the forecastle, he stopt short and took shelter behind 
the capstern. It was a night action, and so dark, 
that the accusation could not be satisfactorily sub¬ 
stantiated ; and with no little trouble and exertion of 
authority, I once more stifled the report, and placed 
him on good terms with his comrades, encouraged and 
justified (as I felt) by the recollection strong in my 
memory of the sentiment of my revered patron and 
friend Lord Howe, by which a brave and honourable 
man was saved from disgrace and ruin, as will be 
seen in the sequel. 

“ I had occasion some time after to send this youth 
to England for the recovery of his health; and the 
war being renewed in 1803, he went to the West 
Indies, where he proved himself to be quite a hero, 
boarding and cutting out the enemy’s vessels (the 
most perilous of our services), and receiving several 


XII.] 


TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 


413 


dangerous wounds. He returned home in 1805 with 
such a character for gallant bearing, as induced a fair 
lady, the sister of a noble earl who has since held 
the first office under the Crown, to accept his pro¬ 
posal, and to become his wife. He was by this time 
a captain, and having fitted out a fine frigate at Dept¬ 
ford, was sent to cruize off the coast of Norway, where, 
having chased and followed a vessel within the island 
rocks with which that coast abounds, a gun-boat 
came out and fired (as I have been informed) only 
one shot at the frigate, which killed the captain and 
a person standing near him. Her ladyship married 
a second husband, and is since dead. 

(Signed) Robert Barlow. 

“ P. S. For obvious reasons I do not give names.*” 

Not only was the disposition of Lord Howe of 
the most kindly nature, but he divested himself in a 
remarkable manner of every approach to a state of 
anger or resentment, and carefully abstained from 
all irritating language, whether in speaking or 
writing. In the perusal of the four hundred letters 
and upwards that have been mentioned, embracing 
opinions of, and unreserved discussions upon, the 
merits or otherwise of many and various characters 

* The parties herein alluded to are not difficult to be discovered 
The officer was Captain Bettesworth, who married Lady Hannah 
Althea, sister to Earl Grey, who was afterwards married to Mr. 
Edward Ellice, M. P. for Coventry. 


414 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

of all classes of individuals, it did not fail forcibly to 
strike the reader of them, bow invariably, with one 
single exception, be takes the good-natured and fa¬ 
vourable side of every question; and that in the 
whole series, the harshest word employed is, block¬ 
head , bestowed on his steward for not taking care 
of his own interests. Indeed, the sentiments these 
letters express, the feelings they display, the remarks 
and observations on the various subjects they embrace 
and, above all, the friendly and favourable tone in 
which they speak of his contemporary brother-officers, 
unmixed with the least tinge of prejudice or jealousy, 
are highly honourable to his character as a man and a 
true hero. 

The exception alluded to applies to Sir Alexander 
Hood, afterwards Lord Bridport, whose conduct was, 
to say the least, in the relative situations of the two 
parties, foolish, mean, and highly reprehensible. 
Lord Howe was the very last man against whom 
such conduct ought to have been exhibited. The 
first complaint of Lord Howe appears in a letter to 
Sir Roger Curtis of the 16th of July 1794, Sir 
Alexander being then second in command, under 
him, of the Western Squadron. He says, “ I 
wrote to Sir Alexander Hood an official letter, some 
days since, for a return to be sent to me of the 
first and second lieutenants in the Royal George on 
the 1st of June, and senior lieutenants of each of the 
other line-of-battle ships, (including the second in 


XII.] 


TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 


415 


the Brunswick,) for being sent to the Admiralty in 
view to their preferment; but have not yet received 
either acknowledgment of the letter or the list re¬ 
quired. The readiest means for terminating that 
business will therefore be, I imagine, by giving you 
the trouble to order such a return to be prepared and 
sent to me.” Nothing more appears till July the 9th 
1795, when Lord Howe says, “ I have not only not 
received a line from the Admiral since he went from 
Spithead, but have never been informed by himself 
that he had received his sailing orders. Whether 
this omission proceeds from interesting occurrences 
engaging his attention, or inadvertency, I cannot 
judge ; but I supposed he could not be unapprised 
that a report of his proceedings should be made to 
the authority, from which his line of conduct was 
marked out to him, as well as to the Admiralty.” 

This pointed disrespect was continued with perti¬ 
nacious consistency; for on the 24th of September 
1795, Lord Howe writes from Porters thus:—“ You 
say the Admiral is not in the best temper : his head 
I think is turned with the conceit of his important 
services. I have the most absurd official letter from 
him I ever read, in answer to an intimation that 
he had not acknowledged the receipt of his sailing 
orders. It is not an unpleasant incident, as it fur¬ 
nishes me with a just plea for declining to serve with 
him, if again required to resume my former situation. 
And, indeed, it will be necessary to profit by the 
opportunity, in case we were to be concerned in the 


416 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

conduct of a large fleet, when much special exertion 
would be required from the second in command.” 

In another letter of the 29th of September, he 
says, “ The state of Lord Bridport’s reasoning facul¬ 
ties cannot, I think, be more a travers than in his 
doubts of your pretensions to a share in the profits 

of his captures.His conduct towards me 

has always been such, that I don’t think he merits 
any more cordial attention from me. I am inclined 
to believe his displeasure to me is founded on a re¬ 
quisition made, whilst I presided at the Admiralty, 
for his paying in a part of the large balance of the 
Greenwich Hospital money then in his hands, instead 
of being obliged to make application for more to be 
issued from the Treasury, to answer the demands of 
the Hospital service.” 

Without pretending to any knowledge of Sir Alex¬ 
ander Hood’s feelings or disposition, the fact may be 
taken as certain, that asking for money has dissolved 
many a friendship, and “killed” many a “heart.” 
“You owe me money. Sir John, and now you pick 
a quarrel to beguile me of it.” Lord Howe, it may 
be suspected, could have assigned another reason 
for his conduct. Lord Howe had laid Sir Alex¬ 
ander under the greatest obligation, by obtaining 
for him the command of a division in the fleet, sent 
out for the relief of Gibraltar, at a time when he was 
under a cloud, in consequence of the transaction 
concerning the log-book, when he commanded the 
Robust; and such a return as this is not altogether 



XII.] 


TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 


417 


an unusual way of manifesting a sense of gratitude 
for benefits conferred. 

In another letter, of the 24tli of October, Lord 
Howe sends Sir Roger a list of ships, which he tells 
him will remain under his direction, in the absence 
of a senior officer employed in the Channel fleet; 
and he adds, “ Amongst those officers Lord Bridport 
is named ; and for the present I don’t propose mak¬ 
ing any formal objection to his continuance. But 
should it be necessary for me again to resume the com¬ 
mand at sea, I shall be compelled to declare my total 
inability to serve again with him, after the receipt of 
such a letter as I formerly alluded to, but of which I 
then took no notice, as I hoped to be released from 
any further maritime charge of or concern with the 
fleet.” 

Lord Howe’s mind had long been bent upon 
bringing to perfection a system of naval tactics, and 
the management of fleets by signals. On the 13th 
of January 1796, he says, “ My instructions to divi¬ 
sional flag-officers of squadrons require the personal 
visitation and muster of the ships assigned to each. 
Lord Bridport, nevertheless, has always evaded the 
performance of such duty, on plea of ill health ; and 
having intrusted it to flag-officers, he has taken such 
occasions to compliment them on their science and 
integrity. My remedy for that evasion (as I construe 
it) would have been by application to the Admi¬ 
ralty for the appointment of another assistant flag- 

2 E 


418 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

officer in place of him, whose state of health did not 
admit of his rendering me the assistance I required. 
Had I so done, the measure would have been deemed 
harsh, and was in fact less eligible, as it regarded an 
institution of my own, not of the general superintend¬ 
ing authority of the Board.” 

In March 1796 when, by the death of Admiral 
Forbes, Lord Howe became Admiral of the Fleet , 
and was also appointed General of Marines, the 
latter being a lucrative situation, in comparison with 
that of Vice-Admiral of England, which he was 
obliged to relinquish, and which, though merely ho¬ 
norary, he considered as superior in dignity. On 
this occasion he says, “ I do not feel flattered by 
having that nominal superiority transferred to my 
junior. Lord Bridport, on whom it is to be bestowed ; 
though I shall not regret his succession (if it shall 
so please the Fates) to the principal charge whicli 
he held last summer in a subordinate character.” 

There are very few instances on record in the life 
of Lord Howe, in which his temper appears to have 
been ruffled in the smallest degree ; and with regard 
to the contemptuous conduct of Lord Bridport, who 
was under his immediate command, there are not 
many officers, placed in the situation of Lord Howe, 
that would have exercised as much forbearance 
under similar circumstances; but command of tem¬ 
per, or rather placidity of mind, was one great cha¬ 
racteristic of the noble Earl. In the following 


XII.] 


TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 


419 


extract of a letter written by him in October 1795, 
his feelings are thus well expressed:— 

“ You say I shall smile at your declaration that 
f you can command your own temper.’—No; I have 
a perfect knowledge of your sound understanding, 
and an equal conviction of your firmness to effect 
every practicable undertaking, in which you are de¬ 
termined to engage. Passion, or rather eagerness 
of character, in the sense we now mean is, in my 
opinion, the active principle; or, in Pope’s beautiful 
words, 

* Reason is the card, hut passion is the gale.’ 

It is not the frailty of human nature, otherwise than 
as it governs us instead of being held by us in sub¬ 
jection ; and I believe no man exists who has not 
found, under the last-mentioned circumstances, that 
his conduct has not always evinced his capacity to 
the best advantage, when the influence of passion 
hath been predominant. But enough of this has 
been said by a frail mortal, who has more of the 
weakness I would reprobate, than of the virtue which, 
in strong minds, is often seen to accompany it. 

It is clear, from these extracts, that Lord Howe, 
by his naturally kind disposition, exercised great 
forbearance toAvards his subordinate officers, his 
whole life indeed afforded a proof how little he was 
. disposed to take or to give offence. He was never 
known to have been involved in any personal 
quarrel, except on one occasion with Captain Lord 

2 e 2 


420 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

Harvey. The particulars of the dispute may pro¬ 
bably have found their way into some of the pe¬ 
riodical papers of that time. In a small volume 
of no reputation, called the “ Naval Atalantis,” is 
the following paragraph. Speaking of Lord Harvey, 
it is said,—“ While Captain of the Raisonable, ol 
64 guns, the general tenor of bis conduct was ap¬ 
proved ; but in one particular instance relative to his 
attack on Lord Howe, he certainly departed from 
his dignity, by suffering himself to be prevailed upon 
publicly to deny what he had as publicly asserted. 
His lordship [Harvey] was perfectly right in the 
outset of that unpleasant controversy, but the event 
cast a blot upon his professional character which 
cannot be easily done away.” 

The circumstance here alluded to, as stated from 
the recollection of a naval officer now living, is this: 
that Lord Harvey, who, though an excellent officer, 
was quite as fond of London society as of his ship, 
became exceedingly indignant when he found that 
the Raisonable was one of the ships of the squadron, 
which Lord Howe was ordered to send to the West 
Indies after the relief of Gibraltar, as being one in 
a state of the greatest efficiency. Lord Harvey took 
great offence at the selection thus made, and avenged 
himself by writing scurrilous letters, in wdiich the 
conduct of Lord Howe was arraigned when in pre¬ 
sence of the enemy in the Straits of Gibraltar, and 
in one of which he says, “ if we had been led with 


XII.] 


TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 


421 


the same spirit with which we should have followed, 
it would have been a glorious day for England.” 
On Lord Harvey’s return to England, Lord Howe 
immediately called him out; and, without the cere¬ 
mony of exchanging explanations in writing, went 
at once to the ground, accompanied by Admiral 
Leveson Gower as liis second. Lord Harvey took 
his Captain of Marines as his friend; and then and 
there fully retracted all his offensive expressions, and 
made an ample apology; preventing thus any ex¬ 
penditure of powder, shot, or life. 

The man “undaunted as a rock,” and who de¬ 
clared he “ never knew what fear was,” was not a 
man likely to want “ spiritbut when young fop¬ 
pish officers, ignorant of all the circumstances that 
govern the conduct of their superiors, take upon 
themselves to censure their conduct and proceedings, 
they scarcely deserve that a valuable life, as in the 
instance of Lord Howe, should be put in jeopardy, 
or in degrading competition with one that, in all 
probability, might be better spared. No man, as it 
has already been stated, was less disposed to be 
quarrelsome, none of a more forgiving disposition, 
or more ready to repair an unintentional injustice 
done to any one, or more ready to acknowledge it, 
than Lord Howe. “ I find,” says he, “ that I have 
done an injustice to Christian (Sir Hugh) in sup¬ 
posing any admonitions necessary as to the arrange¬ 
ments of his ship’s duties;” and he goes on to pay 


422 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 

a handsome compliment to his attention and fore¬ 
sight. Admiral Macbride, as an opposition member, 
had opposed and censured Howe in some debate in 
the House of Commons; but the noble lord was so 
much pleased with his zeal and energy displayed on 
service, that he says to Curtis, “ Admiral Macbride’s 
professional attentions cancel all recollection of his 
political hostility.” Praise, and not censure, was 
most congenial with Lord Howe’s disposition. The 
report of a successful battle, wdiether between fleets 
or single ships, is always sure to be mentioned in 
terms of approbation. “ We had here, yesterday,” 
he says, in one of his letters, “ a very imperfect 
report of the very fortunate, interesting, and highly 
honourable event of Duncan’s rencontre with the 
Dutch fleet.” His estimate of Nelson’s character 
appears from the following extract:—“ If Nelson 
figures in the Mediterranean, as we have just reason 
to suppose, in case he gets sight of the Toulon ar¬ 
mament, his ships will not be left in a state to keep 
the sea.” This from Howe speaks volumes. 

He takes frequent opportunities of giving all just 
credit to the abilities and exertions of frigate cap¬ 
tains, who, he says, are the officers we are to look 
up to for commanding our ships of the line. Among 
these he enumerates, by name, Thornborough, Pel- 
lew, Strachan, Samuel Hood, Legge, Stopford, and 
Barlow; and expresses his disappointment that 
medals, or some distinctive mark of approbation, had 


XII.] 


TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 


423 


not been conferred on them. His unremitting at¬ 
tention to all that regarded the navy and the naval 
service, appears in a large portion of his correspond¬ 
ence, and has partially been noticed. He frequently 
laments the want of scientific acquirements in the 
great bulk of naval officers; and speaks with much 
humility of his own deficiency. We find however 
in his private journal, which commences with his 
expedition for the relief of Gibraltar—what is not to 
be found in any journal of a flag-officer of that day, 
and not in many since—a record of the state of the 
barometer, the thermometer, the strength and direc¬ 
tion of the wind, and occasionally the longitude by 
the “ time-keeper,” as compared with that from 
computation. When George III., therefore, <f trusted 
that the example set by Lord Howe to the navy will 
long continue to stimulate, not only the matchless 
bravery of the officers, but convince them of the ne¬ 
cessity to view the profession in a scientific light,” 
he well knew the character of the noble earl in this 
respect. 

That character was in fact so firmly established 
that, when in command of the Magnanime, various 
inventions and supposed improvements were com¬ 
mitted to his charge, for the purpose of making the 
necessary experiments to ascertain their utility. 
Among others, it appears, the Marine Chair of Mr. 
Irwin was submitted to his trial—a contrivance by 
means of which it was hoped that the altitudes and 


424 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

angular distances of celestial bodies might be taken, 
as well as eclipses and occultations be readily ob¬ 
served at sea. It seems that not only Howe sat in 
the chair, but Prince Edward and Dr. Blair also; 
the latter of whom was so delighted with the facility 
he.found in using the telescope, that he cried out 
aloud, “This will do! this will do!” Lord Howe 
certifies as under:— 

“ Magnanime, off Ushant, Aug. 11, 1759. 

u On a further experiment of the Marine Chair, 
contrived by Mr. Irwin, I am of opinion that an ob¬ 
servation of an emersion or immersion of Jupiter’s 
satellites may be made in it at sea, not subject to a 
greater error than three minutes of time. 

(Signed) “ Howe.” 

The unfortunate loss of the family correspondence 
deprives us of the clue that would have led to the 
development of Howe’s domestic virtues, and of the 
happiness of all around him. The affliction caused 
by his death to every part of his family, and the 
melancholy consequences which so speedily followed 
that event, and which are so feelingly described in 
the few letters that have been saved, paint in vivid 
colours the sad change which could only be imagined 
by those who, as the amiable Lady Mary observes, 
“ knew the interior of this family.” Sir Roger 
Curtis, who lived at his house when in town, says 
that his domestic circle was blessed with the happiest 
state of harmony; that his countess and daughters 


XII.] 


TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 


425 


looked on him with the most affectionate regard, 
indeed they almost idolized him ; and that, although 
to a stranger he appeared to present a rough outside 
and a coldness of manner, it contained a warm heart. 
He was kind and attentive to all around him, and 
possessed an evenness and suavity of temper that put 
every one at ease in his company. He was indul¬ 
gent to his servants, and, as in his ship he said he 
was a fop, so in his house, as far as regarded regu¬ 
larity and neatness in the clothing of his domestics, 
he was very particular. That clever person, Mrs. 
Howe, a woman of a masculine understanding, might 
almost he considered an inmate of the family, and 
a most important one. She lived in an adjoining 
house, internally communicating with that of her 
brother, who occupied the one, which the Marchio¬ 
ness of Sligo and Lord Stowell afterwards, for a 
short time, inhabited, and in which the noble earl 
died. 


If it be admitted generally by naval men, as it 
probably will, that the three greatest and most dis¬ 
tinguished officers of latter times were the Lords 
Howe, St. Vincent, and Nelson, it may not be out 
of place, or uninteresting, to add a few words on 
their distinctive characters and the modes respec¬ 
tively pursued by them in carrying on their profes¬ 
sional duties. In the extensive sense of all three 



426 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

being skilful and accomplished flag-officers, tho¬ 
roughly experienced in every branch of the service— 
who, by their superior knowledge, energy, and zeal, 
in introducing and maintaining good order and dis¬ 
cipline in the fleet—may be considered pretty nearly 
on an equality; and it is perhaps not too much to 
say, they have done more towards elevating the cha¬ 
racter of the profession than any or all of their pre¬ 
decessors ; perhaps it may also with truth be said, 
and not without a feeling of regret, 

-“ Farewell, with them, 

The hope of such hereafter ”- 

Howe unquestionably led the way. He was his 
own sole instructor in naval matters—not brought 
up in any particular school—hardly indeed can it be 
said there was any school in the early part of his 
career. Whatever he gained, from the various com¬ 
manders under whom he served, must have been by 
comparison, observation, and reflection. At that 
time, there was very little system observed in the 
navy, and still less of science. Naval tactics, evolu¬ 
tions, and signals were then but feebly creeping into 
use, in humble imitation of the Frjeneh, and had 
made hut slow progress—rarely attempted indeed to 
be carried into practice except by one individual—the 
talented and unfortunate Kempenfelt, who perished 
in the Royal George. After him, Howe seriously 
took them up, and never lost sight of these import¬ 
ant objects until he had completed a system which 


XII.] 


TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 


427 


long bore the name of “Howe’s Signals.” In the 
perfecting of this system he was indefatigable— 
whether on shore or afloat, theoretically or practi¬ 
cally this favourite and most useful object was up¬ 
permost in his mind. It is scarcely necessary to 
repeat that Howe was professionally and character¬ 
istically bold, cool, and decisive—a thorough seaman 
in theory and practice—and his knowledge was con¬ 
veyed to others mostly by mildness, persuasion, and 
the force of example. 

In tactics and in discipline, St. Vincent was a 
disciple of Howe. In giving his opinion on the 
expediency of a night action with a superior enemy, 
the former decided against it, on the ground of being 
in such a case deprived of the great advantage of 
Howe’s signals. In discipline the scholar may be 
said to have carried his mode of instruction beyond 
the master. Where Howe was patient, gentle, in¬ 
dulgent, and kind, by which he won the attachment 
of both officers and seamen, St. Vincent was rigor¬ 
ous, peremptory, and resolute, rigidly maintaining 
that the life and soul of naval discipline was obe¬ 
dience—his favourite word was obedienza. The one 
obtained his object by pursuing the suaviter in modo 
—the other by the fortiter in re. The mutinous 
seamen at Portsmouth, but half subdued, were at 
once completely reduced to order by the kind and 
gentle treatment of, and the confidence they placed 
in. Lord Howe. The mutiny in the fleet off Cadiz 
no sooner sprung up, than it was crushed by the 


428 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. 


[CH. 


prompt and vigorous measures of Lord St. Vincent, 
whose determined and resolute conduct, on that oc¬ 
casion, was absolutely necessary to prevent that 
spirit of insubordination from spreading which had 
manifested itself in many of the ships employed in 
blockading a distant and an enemy’s port. 

These two gallant admirals, pursuing different 
modes of attaining the same ends, and of very dif¬ 
ferent temperaments, had the greatest respect and 
deference for each other. St. Vincent always spoke 
of Howe in terms of the highest praise and regard. 
He used to say he was a man of few words, but what 
he said was always to the purpose, and well worthy 
to be remembered. The kindly feelings of men to¬ 
wards each other are frequently discovered in trifling 
incidents or expressions : Lord St. Vincent, on en¬ 
tering the breakfast-room, would often say, “ Well, 
I have got on my blue breeches this cold morning; 
Lord Howe wore blue breeches, and I love to follow 
his example even in my dress.” On the other hand, 
St. Vincent was considered by Howe as the first naval 
officer of his day. In a letter already quoted, he says, 
“ I will only commission you to assure him (Lord St. 
Vincent) in my behalf, in simple veracity, that his 
eminent services have not exceeded my expecta¬ 
tions.” * He was unquestionably a fearless and in¬ 
telligent commander, bold in design and prompt in 

* A beautiful and highly-prized letter was written by Lord Howe 
to St. Vincent on his victory of 1797, which by some means or bther is 
said to have disappeared from the family papers, to the great regret 
and annoyance of the surviving connexions. 


XII.J TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 429 

execution, free in his opinions, generous, and chari¬ 
table without ostentation; a keen observer of man¬ 
kind ; indulgent to minor offences, severe in those of 
an aggravated nature. In politics he was a Whig, 
firmly attached to his party; but his friends always 
maintained that he never allowed his political feel¬ 
ings to interfere with his professional duties. As an 
officer his talents were certainly of the highest order, 
and many excellent commanders were educated and 
brought forward under his auspices. With all this 
merit, which public opinion duly appreciated, he is 
said (by one who knew him well) to have affected, 
as well when afloat as under circumstances on shore, 
the character of a blunt tar, obstinate in his reso¬ 
lutions, and rough in the manner of exercising his 
authority over the officers of his fleet; but notwith¬ 
standing this, the features by which he was best 
known in society was that of a refined courtier, 
smooth and complimentary in his address. His 
professional character, however, was steady resolu¬ 
tion and firmness of purpose. 

The character and conduct of Nelson were widely 
different from both of the above-mentioned officers. 
Without being a thorough seaman, he knew well 
how to stimulate exertions and to animate zeal. He 
had the peculiar tact to make every officer, from the 
highest to the lowest, believe that his individual 
share in any enterprise contributed mainly to its 
success—thus giving encouragement and inspiring 


430 LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. 

confidence to each in his own exertions. In the 
result he was singularly fortunate: where he led all 
were anxious to follow. Nelson was indeed a being 
sui generis —“ none hut himself could be his pa¬ 
rallel ”—and it may be feared he has left few of the 
same breed behind him. That he had his weak 
points cannot be denied, but what human being is 
exempt from them? He has been unjustly com¬ 
pared with an Anthony, ready to sacrifice the world 
to another Cleopatra—than which nothing can be 
more incorrect; with one unfortunate exception, 
which, in a moment of infatuation, has cast an in¬ 
delible stain on his memory, he never suffered the 
deplorable influence alluded to in any way to inter¬ 
fere with his professional duties. Whenever such 
demanded his presence, all pleasures and indulgences 
gave way; neither these nor the least care of life 
occupied for a moment a share in his thoughts. A 
passionate and insatiable love of fame was the f spur * 
to Nelson’s “ noble mind.” To be “ Crowned with 
Laurel or covered with Cypress ”—“ a Peerage or 
Westminster Abbey ”—“ Victory or Westminster 
Abbey ”—these were the words, the signal for each 
terrible conflict. He never anticipated defeat, but 
went into battle with the full conviction he was to 
conquer or die. The words were the ebullition of 
that feeling, which carried his feeble frame through 
exertions and energies, that nothing short of his 
ardent and spiritual nature could have supported. 


XII.] 


TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 


431 


The strength and elasticity ofliis mind got complete 
control over bodily pain and infirmity. These in 
the scale of human affliction were to him as nothing, 
when in sight or pursuit of an enemy. An ambitious 
love ot distinction, a thirst for the acquisition of 
honours, or a glorious death, was the ruling passion, 
and his destiny led him to experience them all. 
Conqueror of “ a hundred fights,” he died at last, as 
all true heroes would wish to do, in the arms of 
victory! 

Howe, on the contrary, was exempt entirely from 
ambition of that kind. He was less of an egotist 
than almost any man in his station of life. The 
results of his actions were considered by him in no 
other light than as they affected his country; he 
speaks only of the duty he owes to his king and his 
country, and to the good of the naval service. He 
never appears to think of honours nor to court dis¬ 
tinction. The earldom conferred on him was re¬ 
ceived with indifference; the offer of a marquisate 
was rejected as coming immediately from the mi¬ 
nister, in lieu of an honour promised by his Sove¬ 
reign ; but the Garter he considered as an ostensible 
mark of the King’s approbation, and the Medal and 
Chain equally so, and therefore felt it due to the 
royal donor to wear them on all occasions. Thus it 
also was with Lord St. Vincent’s Star of the Bath, 
which he always wore on his morning as well as on 


432 


LIFE OF EARL HOWE. [CH. XII. 


his evening dress, as an honourable distinction con¬ 
ferred for his services by his Sovereign. 

Howe sought for no pension nor any remuneration 
of a pecuniary nature for his long and meritorious 
services, and murmured not at those who obtained 
rewards for deeds far less brilliant than his own. 
The only complaint he appears ever to have uttered, 
was on account of the neglect of the Admiralty 
towards the more humble but not less valuable 
instruments who had faithfully served under him. 
Of his military character there never was, nor could 
there be, but one opinion. His moral conduct 
through life, his love of truth and sense of justice, 
were universally admitted; he was generous, humane, 
kind-hearted, and charitable; always manifesting an 
eagerness to do good. In politics he was a Tory, 
but no party-man; a true patriot, he was sensitively 
alive to the honour of his King and country. In 
one word, Lord Howe was a man in all the relations 
of social life, 

INTEGER VITiE SCELERISQUE PURUS. 


THE END. 


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